garden plans for 2012

[moolie]

So cool to read about everyone's garden experiences, and also to see how many are garden-crazy like me! Keep the stories coming!

BUY a replacement? spend money heck no

transplant some into a pot and go about killing the other this season. it will only get worse and worse and worse and worse if you don't get it now.

You beat me to it, FC!

Except for killiing it off...I'd cut it all back and dry it for teas.

My mints (applemint and peppermint) are planted in naturally hollowed out tree stumps (cut down from when we did our small clearing) right now until I figure out just where to plant them to let them run amuck/amok.

Ditto ditto ditto on not buying but rather transplanting from what you have, and harvesting the rest.

We actually managed to kill off some mint that was growing around our crabapple tree at our old house--no idea what we did because we just let it be, but it died back over the course of 3 years until there was just a tiny patch which I potted up and then it grew no more under the crabapple. It was a low spot in the yard and I wonder if there were a few damp springs there that drowned it?

The pot did well for a couple of years, then I'm not sure what happened to it--I may have given it to someone. Ours was spearmint, and a bit brash tasting for my tastes, so it's actually likely that I gave it to someone who wanted it for tea.

 

[Gypsi]

My dogs killed my spearmint, favorite leg-lifting location. The drought and choking bermuda grass probably helped out.

 

[ORChick]

The only things my cucumbers ever crossed with were cantaloupes, you might be able to put them right next to zucchini.
Those 2 plants (cantaloupe and cucumber) are just too close together genetically.

I'm not sure about pumpkins - I always plant them at mid-summer or after for a halloween harvest. So they aren't generally blooming at the same time as the rest. It really gets hot here in summer, zucchini rarely lasts thru June.

It seems unlikely that your cantaloupes and cucumbers cross pollinated, though apparently it is not impossible.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/vegetables/cantalou.html?pagewanted=all

Q. Can cantaloupes cross-pollinate with other crops such as cucumbers, watermelons, squash or pumpkins?

A. Crossing between members of the curcurbit family is rare. If crossing occurs, it will not show up in this year's fruit but will be evident if seed is saved from these fruits to plant in next year's garden. Many people rate off-flavored or strange- colored fruit with cross-pollination, but it is usually caused by environmental conditions or disease.

As to your pumpkins/squash - check the seed packet for the type of squash you are planting (Curcurbit Maxima, c. pepo, c. moschata, c. mixta - there may be others, but you get the idea); if they are the same they will very likely cross, if they bloom at the same time. If they are different they will not cross. For example, many of what are considered summer squash are c. pepo; they will cross with one another. However, several winter squash are also c. pepo, and will cross with your summer squash, if they bloom concurrently. If they do cross though it will really only matter if you are saving seed to plant later (see above quote)

 

[Gypsi]

I have never had a cantaloupe quite like that since I quit planting cucumbers. I am aware that it should NOT affect this year's fruit, but my grand-dad told me not to plant them close together, and I had a small garden 20 years later, and I did, and I got some really weird fruit on my vines. I also save my seeds, so I'd just as soon do without cucumbers or have them farther away..

 

[FarmerChick]

cattle panels is what I use also to trellis. I love to grow up. It keeps cukes and all that clean.

I just stake them up with T posts and they are wonderful for cukes, green beans and more. cattle panels do wonderful and they last forever. one time purchase and those panels do many jobs on a farm

 

[Dawn419]

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)?

Our main garden is 32' x 50', fenced in and is a hodge-podge of garden styles and plantings.

When we started clearing it out from small trees and underbush, we realized we had a small area of native low-bush blueberry plants so we incorporated them into the garden. Close to this area, we have 2 domestic blueberry bushes ($2.50 a piece WalMart rescues) and a small fig tree.

At this present time, it contains two raised beds and we plan to add more of these in the near future. Right now, the west end bed is 3/4th full of fall-planted garlic (Georgian Fire, Purple Glazer and California Late White) and the east bed has a coldframe for winter grown lettuce, mesclun mix and other assorted greens plus our 25 strawberry plants.

Since I quickly figured out that the two raised beds weren't going to be enough growing space for everything I wanted to grow, I started the huge project of turning the inside edges of the fence into 1 - 2' x "however long the fence is" traditional beds, mainly for herbs and extra veggie plants (I love companion planting!!!).

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?

Veggie-wise, at this point, we've only been able to supplement what we're buying from the grocery store but hope to eventually be growing all of our own for canning/freezing/dehydrating. We do plan on having a root cellar...one of these days!

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

We had a bad growing season here...cool, wet early spring then summer showed up in mid-spring so we didn't have much of a vegetable garden (the herbs loved it, though). What plants I struggled to grow ended up being plagued with grasshoppers.

We are plaguing the g'hoppers with Nolo Bait. Started spreading it in late summer (bought a 1 lb. bag as a test run) and will be investing in more for the upcoming season. We let the guineas and chickens free range and it seemed like all the hoppers moved to the safety of the garden.

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?

Fortunatly, none. I'm sure I'll pay for it in the next few years though!

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

Timing...as in getting my seeds started on time for their proper season as opposed to being a month or more behind!

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.)

I think my biggest challenge, since we've carved our home from a small section of our woods, is keeping the woods from reclaiming the garden area. Some times it seems like a full time job just beating back all the tree root suckers that keep popping up.

Oh, I almost forgot...falling acorns in the fall. I actually wear a hard hat to work in the garden when they start falling.

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.)

I was really bummed by such an unproductive garden season but had two triumphs.

A. The herbs thrived in the dry, roasting summer heat and
B. Convinced my mom that she should try growing fall-planted garlic and supplied her with the bulbs to use. She was thrilled when every clove she planted sprouted and is continuing to grow.