Garden planning this year

[Wannabefree]

No problem

 

[sleuth]

Don't forget beets, radishes, lettuces, almost any greens, spinach, some varieties of peas, potatoes, and carrots. You can start all of those about the same time as onions and asparagus. I'm in zone 7, so I can't give much advice, but I can tell you what plants get planted early. I have radishes, carrots, spinach, and onions started, oh and tomatoes, but my tomatoes are super early even for my area, but it's because of the variety I got and that i will be utilizing the greenhouse for a few weeks before transplanting them. I need to get some seed potatoes planted this week as well. SO GOOD to be talking gardening!!!

I will be starting my seeds in an unheated barn, most likely. I don't really have anywhere in the house to start them. Mother Earth News tells me all those others should be started in March.

Won't be growing any beets, radishes, or peas. Can't stand them.

 

[Wannabefree]

If you can get a small flourescent lamp into that barn to set up over your starts, they'll do MUCH better. Peas are some of the easiest things to grow, but worthless if you won't eat them You don't like ANY peas? I don't particularly care for the green "English pea" type, but love the black eyed peas(purple hulls) and so does my family. Technically they're a bean, but everyone calls them peas

 

[sleuth]

If you can get a small flourescent lamp into that barn to set up over your starts, they'll do MUCH better. Peas are some of the easiest things to grow, but worthless if you won't eat them You don't like ANY peas? I don't particularly care for the green "English pea" type, but love the black eyed peas(purple hulls) and so does my family. Technically they're a bean, but everyone calls them peas

I'm not sure. But the regular green peas out of the can, yuck! I've never really had any other kind.
We are also purchasing a 1/2 share in a local CSA this year - a relatively inexpensive way for us to try some things we hadn't liked before. We tried okra and sphagetti squash last year for the first time. Wasn't too bad, but I won't be growing them.

 

[Wannabefree]

We LOVE okra, IF it is prepared right. May be a good idea to try different recipes as well. I thought I hated eggplant for the longest time....until I found a delicious recipe I liked Now we eat eggplant pretty often as it's available.

 

[sleuth]

We LOVE okra, IF it is prepared right. May be a good idea to try different recipes as well. I thought I hated eggplant for the longest time....until I found a delicious recipe I liked Now we eat eggplant pretty often as it's available.

I had fried eggplant once and it didn't take. My wife loves eggplant. If you have a great recipe that I'll like she'll be forever indebted to you.

 

[moolie]

This is only my second garden ever, and last years garden was kind of a wash. I may have broke even, but only a few items came up.

This year, with my new raised beds, more learning, and a head start, I'm hoping for big gains.

Mother Earth News planner tells me that in Ohio, I should be starting my asparagus, onions, & chives indoors starting in February. Any tips?

Asparagus started from seed shouldn't be harvested till its third or fourth season--it needs 2 or 3 summers to grow first. That's why most people buy crowns.

I've never started my onions indoors, and I live in a Zone 3/4, so no advice from me there. I just plant onion sets in May and hope the frost doesn't get them (never had any problems).

If you can get a small flourescent lamp into that barn to set up over your starts, they'll do MUCH better. Peas are some of the easiest things to grow, but worthless if you won't eat them You don't like ANY peas? I don't particularly care for the green "English pea" type, but love the black eyed peas(purple hulls) and so does my family. Technically they're a bean, but everyone calls them peas

I'm not sure. But the regular green peas out of the can, yuck! I've never really had any other kind.
We are also purchasing a 1/2 share in a local CSA this year - a relatively inexpensive way for us to try some things we hadn't liked before. We tried okra and sphagetti squash last year for the first time. Wasn't too bad, but I won't be growing them.

Canned peas aren't peas anymore--try fresh, or at the very least frozen, and see if you like them.

I spent my childhood summers standing barefoot in the warm earth of our big garden picking pea pods and popping them open to eat fresh raw peas, and my own kids have done the same--they're like candy!

Also, your seeds will germinate just fine in the dark as long as they are at/above the correct temperature (how unheated is your barn?) so you don't need to get a fluorescent light over them until the baby plants emerge. Then you want to keep the bulb no more than 4-6" above the plants, so be sure to have a way to lower/raise either the light fixture or the seed trays as the plants grow

 

[sleuth]

We LOVE okra, IF it is prepared right. May be a good idea to try different recipes as well. I thought I hated eggplant for the longest time....until I found a delicious recipe I liked Now we eat eggplant pretty often as it's available.

I had fried eggplant once and it didn't take. My wife loves eggplant. If you have a great recipe that I'll like she'll be forever indebted to you.

Maybe I should just try wrapping it in bacon. That seems to make everything good.

 

[Hinotori]

I have to agree on the peas. Just picked and eaten is like candy. Very sweet and tasty.

Peas start turning starchy pretty quick so you pick, shell and cook a couple minutes for eating if you're cooking them. Don't over cook them. They taste totally different than store peas. Even frozen doesn't have that just picked taste.

Peas also will grow in crappy soil since they fix nitrogen. I'm planting a whole bunch of them this year since they are the only thing that did well last year.

 

[Wannabefree]

Melt a tablespoon or two of butter and grease a shallow pan. Layer slices of eggplant in the bottom to just cover the pan. Beat two eggs, add garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, to taste, pour the egg and spice mixture over the eggplant. Then top with a nice thick layer of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Bake at about 350 degrees for 30 minutes. My teenager begs for this stuff!