What is on the list for spring?

[patandchickens]

I'm not a great big vegetable gardener and I notice this topic is under Fruits and Vegetables, so I don't have a whole big long list like some, but I will definitely plant:

Four or so kinds of tomatoes (always Early Girl as that's what I was imprinted on in childhood as "what a tomato is supposed to be like", plus some tiny cherry tomatoes that've been in the family for some time, plus I'll try a couple new varieties, maybe Marmande and something else);
Scarlet runner beans, to try one last time to see if I can get enough pollination for a decent harvest up here (if not, I'll give up and go to regular pole beans in future years), I think we are bee-deficient here, sigh;
An assortment of lettuce
Couple kinds of basil, and some parsley; and
Butternut squash and/or eating pumpkins.
Also probably some swiss chard.
and there's garlic already in the ground.

I would like to think I'll be ambitious enough to clear more ground and do some potatoes, melons, peppers, etc, but realistically I am quite sure I will not get to that this year. Really I would rather do my digging to get more shrubs and little trees in, and enlarge other beds so there is less mowing to do <shrug>


Pat

 

[digitS']

Four or so kinds of tomatoes (always Early Girl as that's what I was imprinted on in childhood as "what a tomato is supposed to be like", plus some tiny cherry tomatoes that've been in the family for some time, plus I'll try a couple new varieties, maybe Marmande and something else);

Pat, the most popular tomato from one side of North America to the other must be Early Girl - and there's good reason for that. I was surprised to learn how commonly it is grown in places like southern Arizona, West Texas, and Oklahoma. Doesn't sound like Ontario to you, does it?

Well, the gardeners in that corner of the world need to get a tomato crop before it gets too hot - their choice, often Early Girl. Here's some history on this remarkable variety. (I can't promise it's valid history because I've never found it anywhere else but it makes for interesting reading for a tomato aficionado

Now, after saying all that nice stuff about EG, I want to encourage you to both keep those tiny cherry tomatoes going and to try some other things. (I've often admired the picture of Marmande in the catalogs

Your family's tomato may be an heirloom by now by any definition. And, if it is being passed from one generation to the next - it counts that way. I grow one like that and it has been in my family since the Great Depression. It is probably part of our genetic make-up by now.

We should start a thread on short-seasoned tomato varieties now that we know that a standard like Early Girl is found all over the place. I cannot grow what is considered an 80 day variety in my garden and sometimes can't get one to ripen that isn't even supposed to take that long! Nevertheless, I've got a few new 'maters to try every year!! :tools

Steve

 

[patandchickens]

Steve,

I'm originally from Philly and lived variously in NC, OH, NJ and NY before moving up here 6 years ago, so, actually I do know how widespread and tolerant of different climates Early Girl is

The cherry tomato is not an heirloom, exactly, it's more complicated... my family has only had it for <counts on fingers> it'll be 20 years next summer, but it comes from seed I got when I was in grad school, from some fellow biologists who worked in Peru. It was supposedly a strain commonly grown in villages there (in our family it is consequently known as 'the Peruvian tomato", generally with an expletive wedged in there too as it grows like crazy and flops all over everything else in the garden).

It is actually much less interesting than this makes it sound though. It looks somewhat like Sweet Million but with less cloying sweetness, much better (to my tastebuds) tangy tomato flavor, and a serious tendency towards cracking. I don't remember it cracking nearly so much the first few years, but the thing is, I have moved around so much I never seem to save seeds, so for almost 20 years it's been up to the self-seeded volunteers in my mother's garden (it has long since been relegated to the neglected hot dry bed by their greenhouse where it can rampage in peace) to perpetuate the line. Every winter, well ok many winters, she has sent me seed from that. I strongly suspect the strain has degenerated a lot because of the lack of intentional selection and the amount of natural selection for cold-hardy seeds, drought tolerance, vegetative vigor, etc.

I'm not all that super keen on it anymore... but I sort of hate to give it up altogether (I actually saved seed this year!) both for nostalgic reasons and because my 3 year old sun loooooves it

Steve, if you are looking for a short season tomato and Early Girl is not quite dependable enough you might try Siberia. It is supposed to be about as early as Early Girl but ripen fruit well even in cool cloudy weather (not that Early Girl is a slouch in that department either of course). I tried it this past year, which as luck would have it was warmer and sunnier than usual Its taste is close to Early Girl, the fruits a bit smaller on average (maybe 2-2 1/2" across?) and distinctly a little tougher-skinned but still good eating. To the extent that our waether allowed any comparison I was suspecting it probably *does* ripen better when cloudy and very cool, also it seems to keep better (I still have a few tomatoes picked green before killing frost, although they're being used for the chickens not the table, and I believe the survivors are all Siberias.)

Pat

 

[henrietta23]

Lemme think...

Grain: 5 kinds of corn, quinoa, I think I have a packet of amaranth, too
sweet & hot peppers, a few kinds of each, eggplants, various tomatoes
4 kinds of potatoes, couple sorts of carrots, beets
leeks, some different onions, garlic
snap & shell peas, scarlet runner beans, haricot beans, couple kinds of soup beans
zucchini, some little summer squash, 4 kinds of winter squash, 3 kinds of pumpkins, 3 kinds of melons, 2 kinds of cukes
bunch of lettuce and salad greens, winter greens, don't even remember what all I have anymore
cabbage, broccoli
asparagus, I put my asparagus bed in last year so I might get a handful of spears, but I think I need more.
orchard put in last year might give me a few apples, also have some more trees on order to replace the ones the deer destroyed
bunch of herbs, sunflowers
strawberries
I had some blueberry, red & yellow raspberry and gooseberry plants but DH mowed them. He owes me some more. I suppose it is remotely possible one or two might come back, but doubt it.
grapes! I'm going to try table and white wine grapes.

Also a fishing license. We are going to try eating locally, and mainly out of the garden, as much as possible.
Oh, and when we have some structural work done on our house next year, the whole front yard will be dug up, so I'm going to put a stone wall around the front and put in a rose garden instead of the stupid grass.

Plus I have to build a chicken coop separate from the barn so we can start renovating the barn in 2009. You all are inspiring me with your chicken gardens, I will have to think about how I can incorporate chicken things into the landscaping around their coop.

One of my New Year's goals will be to be as much of a "locavore" as possible. not sure of my spelling but I did just read that the word has just been added to the dictionary.

 

[Nifty]

One of my New Year's goals will be to be as much of a "locavore" as possible. not sure of my spelling but I did just read that the word has just been added to the dictionary.

Amazing! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locavore

 

[henrietta23]

One of my New Year's goals will be to be as much of a "locavore" as possible. not sure of my spelling but I did just read that the word has just been added to the dictionary.

Amazing! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locavore

Cool~thanks for the link Nifty. I bookmarked it to go back to over and over!

 

[jc12551]

I only container garden, but here is my list (to date):

Peppers: Anaheim, Zavory, Big Daddy, Costa Rican Sweet, Mariachi Hybrid, and Hot Lemon

Tomato: Italian Ice, Fresh Salsa, Patio Princess, Bush Early Girl, Sweet Baby Girl

Lettuce: Mesclun Mix and Ez Serve

Cucumber: Salad Bush Hybrid

Eggplant: Fairy Tale

Plus some pumpkins and gourds of some sort, Radish and scallions, herbs of every type.

I have already run out of room, but keep adding more stuff to my list!

 

[miss_thenorth]

My list is: sweet corn, bush beans, peas, red beets, potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, tomatoes, leaf lettuce, spinach, zucchini, cucumbers, canteloupe, watermelon, pumpkin. I will also be planting some rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, an apple tree, cherry tree, pear tree. I might try blueberries again this year, but had no luck with them last year. I will also be starting an herb garden, but haven't got the list narrowed down for that yet.

Last year I only had a small garden--tomatoes, leaf lettuce spinach, peppers --and zucchini, cukes and melons I grew up the fence.

As far as flowers go, I haven't decided, but I get my seed catalogue next week.

The only good thing about january is that we get to plan out our gardens. then we get to practice patience...

 

[tentreeacres]

Wow! I'm overwhelmed with all this! Much of what ya'll are talking about is going straight over my head! I don't have a garden yet, don't know a thing about growing plants. I just have some baby trees (flowering trees) that I'm just hoping they will make it when I plant them outside! I'm sort of embarrassed that's all I got. But I'm eager to learn and build up to where ya'll are at!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Tentrees, If you are planning to start a garden, DigitS, had a great link for getting started in a post called --"starting a garden--can you point me in the right direction".....I'd link you to it, but I don't know how... And to me, it's only overwhelming while your planning it. Once you get out there and get your hands in the dirt, it all just comes together. One word of caution though--start out small, plant a few veggies that you like to eat, and every year, you can get a little bigger--if you want to. for years, I only did tomatoes, leaf lettuce and peppers.--just enough for summer salads, and just added to that.

Good luck!!!