garden plans for 2012

[Wannabefree]

Awesome moolie! I was about to start a garden 2012 thread, but thought folks would think I'm crazy I can't wait to get started! I am looking at putting up a hoop house greenhouse too I just still need to get the plastic sheeting. I have a great frame for it. We can plant onions and things early here.

 

[BarredBuff]

We have seeds orders placed

 

[nachoqtpie]

1) How big is your garden area? Traditional garden rows / raised beds / pots or containers / combo? Is your garden on your property or do you have a community garden plot (or a combo of both)?

Well, we have 5 raised beds, 3 more this spring. 1 bed dedicated to strawberries, and a section for corn. We also have 2 apple trees and 1 pear tree. 2011 season we put in 4 grapes, a mulberry and 4 raspberries.

2) What are your gardening goals? Fresh eating during the season to supplement groceries / preservation for the rest of the year through: canning / freezing / dehydrating / root cellaring or other cold storage?

We want to actually GET something more than a couple of tomatoes and a bunch of hot peppers! This was our first year and we didn't even start planning until April! (oops!)

3) Did you have pest problems in 2011 and how did you deal with them?

YES!! Our 3 pumpkins were taken out by vine borers and bean beetles beat up our beans pretty bad. We also had a TON of squash beetles too. I think we're going to try some Diatomaceous Earth next year, and hopefully find some more organic tricks to keep the bad buggies at bay!


4) Did you have plant disease problems in 2011 and how did you deal with them / how do you plan to deal with any aftermath in the coming years?

nope... not this year.. hopefully we won't this upcoming year either! *knock on wood*

5) What is one thing you want to improve about your garden in 2012?

We've already got everything planned out and dates for starting things indoors, planting, transplanting, etc etc etc! I'm HOPING that we will be in good shape for 2012!

6) What specific challenges do you face where you garden and do you have any questions that perhaps someone here can help you with? (This can be anything--water availability, slope, shade, soil, weather etc.)

HEAT!! This past summer was SUPER hot and dry. Most of everything died. Even tho we tried to water every morning before the sun came up. We're trying to incorporate some of our compost that we started at the same time we started our garden.

7) What is one triumph of your 2011 garden year? (Plant varieties that did super well / a new technique you tried that really paid off / just the fact that you did something new or even began a garden for the first time (yay!) / ways to extend your season / you got some member/s of your family on board for the first time etc.)

We started our first garden last year! YAY!! Albeit we started a bit too late, we did get things in the ground, things grew, and most of them died because we couldn't water them enough! Like I said in #2, we didn't even start planning until April, so, for 2012 we've already got everything planned out. I've even marked it on my calendar!

 

[Wannabefree]

We have seeds orders placed

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee we do too!!

 

[BarredBuff]

Adding more heirlooms this year and trying a heirloom sweet corn, and heirloom onions and planst!!! We have all kinds of stuff lined out this year!

 

[nachoqtpie]

I can plant a few things in just a couple more months here

ME TOO!!!
Apparently I'm able to sow my carrots, onions, mesculan, and lettuce 01Feb!! In just over a month I get to start my tomatoes, eggplants, and celery indoors!

 

[moolie]

We have seeds orders placed

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee we do too!!

I can't until January, my seed company Salt Spring Island Seeds doesn't start shipping till the new year.

They still have 2011 info on their website so I know they haven't finished cleaning and packing this season's seeds yet. It's a small company, but totally worth buying from because they sell open-pollinated, organic seeds--many of them heirlooms

But we can't even think about starting seeds indoors till February for the earliest things we'll plant, since our "official" last frost date is the third weekend of May

 

[so lucky]

Well obviously computer literacy is not my strong point since I don't know how to copy the questions so I can answer them, but I will do an approximation anyway:

1: My garden is about 20 by 30, but will be increased by about 50% this coming year. 2011 was my first garden for 10 or 11 years, so it was almost like a brand new garden. It has the traditional rows, but completely mulched all the paths with newspaper with straw on top. so very little problem with weeds.

2: goals are to provide enough vegetables for my DH and me, for a year. I have not been able to achieve this in the past. I am able to can and freeze. I don't have a dehydrator, but would be interested in drying food. Over the next few years, I want some fruit trees, and berry shrubs. Have strawberries started. I have room to expand all I want.

3: Pest problems: Nothing very severe. Had a few bean beetles, but only used sevin on them. I hand picked most bugs I found, particularly tomato horn worms. We did have a Japanese Beetle infestation, but pheremone traps worked well, and provided food for the chickens. I also used DE on potatoes. I had quite a few cabbage worms on the broccoli. I hand picked what I coud, and used Dipel on them a couple of times.

4: Diseases? nothing to speak of. I guess early blight took a tomato plant early on. But didnt have much of a problem on the rest of them. I like to plant Big Beef tomatoes. They are pretty disease resistant I did have a problem with one kind of tomato, don't remember what kind. It got large white hard areas inside them, so that they were inedible. I usually don't have much luck with heirloom varieties of tomatoes. Poor fruit set, blight, few blossoms, fruit not tasty, what ever.

5:Things I want to improve in 2012....Make it bigger. develop a better watering system. I only watered (deeply) every three days or so, and only in the driest times, because DH was worrying about the water bill. Once I saw how little it raised the bill, I didn't pay any attention to that anymore. Hope to find a pole green bean that tasts great, freezes and cans well. I have always opted for bush beans but I now find my back can't take all that bending over. I expect my DH to help me with this, if nothing else, due to green beans being his alltime fav vegetable.
I want to put in more potatoes and onions and cabbage, and earlier. I was so impressed with the onion crop I planted ("Candy" , I think a short summer variety. They are very crisp and tasty, not hot, and keep very well. More Yukon Gold potatoes! Also more tomatoes for canning and sauce.

6: Special challenges: I am not strong enough to do some stuff by myself, so must ask others to lend a hand. Oftentimes it is done at their convenience, not when I am ready for it. And the changing climate is a special challenge. It is just not as dependable as it has been for hundreds of years. Living in the midwest--Southeast Missouri, we receive the best and the worst of our surrounding regions. Today we had cold north wind, rain and sleet. Not a day for me to get out to do much. Unfortunately, I am more of a fair weather gardener. I don't like being out there with the wind rattling my bones and whipping my hair right off my head. Ah well, I guess that's what long underwear and hats are for.

7: I think a triumph for me was getting a garden out in the first place.My son came and tilled it but I had to work in all the amendments my self, and work over the tilled area, busting up clumps of dirt/grass. Lots of work. But with all the chicken fertilizer, straw,wood shavings, compost and worm castings I put on it, it should be much more ready to be pichforked and planted. I will have to fence it this year, as the chickens have discovered the delights of a garden. I will start some of my own seeds, but use certified seed potatoes. I will gladly offer my assistance in any problem our members are trying to figure out. I am a Master Gardener and do have extensive information at hand. And I always have an opinion!! Glad this forum started. Now I'm itching to get planning, but my mind is full of making Christmas toys right now. And--I need to go to bed.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Seems like not too many people planning 2012 gardens, yet.

I'm not too surprised, as winter is just settling in for some of us--and a far away dream for people in the south.

I just wanted a place to talk about plans and dreams, and possibly get advice/commiserate about problems encountered

Seed catalogs haven't started arriving yet here. Dreaming is for the break between Christmas and New Years.

 

[BarredBuff]

FJ, we have had about 5 in the past month They bombarded some before Thanksgiving