Trying Something New This Year... (post here)

[jojo54]

I love trying new stuff each year!

Last year's new thing was Ground Cherries....

This coming year I want to grow Kohlrabi (tried it for the 1st time this past summer and....yum! ) and some different varieties of Alpine strawberries.

As far as flowers go, I want to try Cerinthe this year.

I grew kohlrabi and it did great. I love it raw and never did get around to cooking it. I direct seeded it too thick but hated to just thin the plants out so I transplanted the seedlings and they all grew fine.

 

[trion]

Going to attempt artichokes in zone 5. Will plant seeds in a couple more weeks. I am still sorting out advice from others to see what will work best for me.

 

[wifezilla]

How did the ground cherries do? I am trying them this year too

 

[patandchickens]

WZ, I tried pineapple groundcherries last year and they were very good and easy and my 5 yr old LOVES them. However they wanted more heat and a longer season than we really have here, so I did not get an awful lot of crop. This year I will plant them all in big selfwatering containers on the (heat trap) front deck and hope to do better. In hotter climates they should do great. Sort of interesting shaped plants, very low and flat.

New things I'm trying for this year: uh, do carrots count as "new" if I've failed with them so many times before that I long since quit trying, but my 5 yr old insists we have to plant them this year?

Also potatoes and cabbage. I know everyone else on the planet grows potatoes and cabbage, but I never have, so sue me For some reason I ahve ordered as my cabbage seed some funky pointy-shaped variety, IIRC because it was supposed to be very sweet and mild. We'll see.

And I'm going to start mulch-killing a plot to grow corn and pumpkins in next year. To do it in this weedy grassy soil, without herbicides, is going to take at least a year but it *is* a commitment to plant corn and pumpkins (both of which I've grown before, though not real successfully) NEXT year!

This year will be the largest total area of veg garden I've tackled since grad school, though -- I've opened up a new bed almost as large as the previous one -- so my big goal for this year is to stay ON TOP OF weeding and all that. !!! .

Pat

 

[wifezilla]

Yeah the carrots count. If I ever got more than 2 carrots, it would count as a new experience for me too!

Thanks for the ground cherry info. I am starting some seeds now. I want to get them out with a wall-o-water by March. A guy up the street grows all his stuff in wall-o-waters and he has AMAZING harvests. Our Spring blizzards don't even phase those protected plants.

 

[curly_kate]

I'm growing Brussels sprouts. I haven't eaten them until last month, but I decided before that that I wanted to grow them because they're such a weird looking plant. I did eat some, and enjoyed them, and I'm figuring they're just going to taste better when they're fresh from my garden.

I'm also growing new varieties of tomatoes (the more the better), peppers, and greens. I can't wait for spring!!! :tools

 

[obsessed]

I am trying square foot gardening this year. As for actual varieties, my only plans for new is other than red maters. And zinnias for my flowers.

 

[vfem]

WZ, I tried pineapple groundcherries last year and they were very good and easy and my 5 yr old LOVES them. However they wanted more heat and a longer season than we really have here, so I did not get an awful lot of crop. This year I will plant them all in big selfwatering containers on the (heat trap) front deck and hope to do better. In hotter climates they should do great. Sort of interesting shaped plants, very low and flat.

New things I'm trying for this year: uh, do carrots count as "new" if I've failed with them so many times before that I long since quit trying, but my 5 yr old insists we have to plant them this year?

Also potatoes and cabbage. I know everyone else on the planet grows potatoes and cabbage, but I never have, so sue me For some reason I ahve ordered as my cabbage seed some funky pointy-shaped variety, IIRC because it was supposed to be very sweet and mild. We'll see.



Pat

You are making me think they are related to cranberries more so then a cherry? Do you think?

 

[vfem]

Yeah the carrots count. If I ever got more than 2 carrots, it would count as a new experience for me too!

Thanks for the ground cherry info. I am starting some seeds now. I want to get them out with a wall-o-water by March. A guy up the street grows all his stuff in wall-o-waters and he has AMAZING harvests. Our Spring blizzards don't even phase those protected plants.

Ok, so I'm not the only one who plants 50 carrots and gets maybe 10 stringy ones, and 3 worth keeping! LOL

 

[cwhit590]

jojo54 - I like raw kohlrabi too! Tried some from the farmer's market and I'm hooked now...it's good to hear that it's not hard to grow. I want to try some in containers.

wifezilla - My ground cherries did great this past year. I was working in a greenhouse last spring and my employer let me attempt a flat of ground cherries on the seed bench. I think I planted them in early March, and it took them 3 weeks to germinate!!! They like warm temps for germination. But once the plants got going, they were very productive in containers and in the garden....unfortunately I planted a LOT more than I needed and my family didn't end up being wild about the taste....so, live and learn. I hear they reseed well so I'll probably have more popping up in the garden this year.

curly kate - I tried a few brussel sprouts plants this past year...they grew well, but I was a little confused about when (and if) to pinch the tops off and when to harvest them...so the chickens ended up getting most of those.

Another thing I planted last year was Jerusalem Artichokes. I planted them in different areas out in the field behind my house, since I hear they are pretty invasive in the garden. I forgot to harvest them this fall ( lazy gardener!!! ) , so hopefully I'll have an even NICER crop for this coming fall...

Carrots actually did very well for me last season, but I would like to find a sweeter, more flavorful variety for this season.