A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening What should I plant in my garden?

Ok, here is the deal.. I had planned on doing a large garden this year. (in years past I have only done tomatoes for the most part, tried watermelons and cantaloupe last year also, but they didn't do well.)

Here is a list of things I wanted to do this year: Tomatoes for slicing, tomatoes for salsa and rotel, and cherry tomatoes, cucumbers for slicing, maybe some for pickling also, sweet corn for eating and for freezing/canning, jalapeño peppers and banana peppers for salsa, green onions, green peppers, potatoes, lettuce blend, spinach for salads, watermelons, cantaloupe..

I think that might be it.. Another thing, I have never canned or frozen anything in my life, nor have I ever made pickles. I am afraid I am getting in over my head.

I just read Tammy in Minnesota's post on planting this next to that and what you should and shouldn't do.. and I am at a total loss. I don't KNOWhow to do this stuff.. and the intimidation is kind of squelching my enthusiasm.

Suggestions? Thank you.

Ok, I am scratching off my list right now.

No watermelon or canteloupe
No potatoes
No onions

Ok, that helps take a little pressure off. Thanks Joclyn!!

What herbs might I need for pickles? I have never tried pickles before.

You can get 'National pickling' seeds. they are a bush vriety that doesn't tend to spread, the cukes are short and make great gherkins and dills, I've also let them grow a bit and make other pickles as well.

I use dill, mustard seed, celery seed and tumeric, mustard powder in my pickles.

Red, yellow and orange peppers taste great pickled in with your pickles as well.

Onions can be easy to grow in any soil if you buy onion bulblet sets instead of seeds. I also agreee to try beans or peas. yellow beans are delicious and make great mustard bean pods for pickling as well, and peas freeze wonderfully.

As far as Canning and Freezing it isn't as hard as it looks. Like most processes the trick is to do one thing at a time and have everything layed out in advance.

Planting for canning and freezing is usually to plant 3 x the amount you would eat fresh. So for me where 6 tomato plants would do me for eating fresh I need to plant 18 tomato plants if I plan to can enough for the entire year. Canning easily keeps that long but most canned things are best eaten within that time frame.

Companion Planting

What I do with the list. After I decide what I am going to plant I look at those plants that are good together and if I am planting any of the companions then I plan to either intersperse them in the same row or close by. That keeps it simple. And I need it to be kept very simple.

Basil - pepper, Tomato, Marigold

Bush Beans - Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Corn, Cucumbers,

Eggplant - Lettuce, Pea, Radish, Strawberry, Savory, Tansy, Marigold, Onion

Pole Beans - Carrots, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Lettuce, Pea, Radish,
Savory, Tansy, Beets, Onion

Beets - Bush Beans, Cabbage, Onion, Sage

Cabbage Family - Bush Beans, Beets, Celery, Onions, Tomato, All Strong Herbs, Marigold, Nasturtium, Strawberry

Carrots - Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Lettuce, Onion, Peas, Radish, Tomato, Sage, Dill

Celery - Bush Beans, Cabbage, Onion, Spinach, Tomato

Corn - Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Cucumber, Melons, Peas, Squash, Tomato

Cucumbers -, Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Corn, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Radish, Marigold, Nasturtium, Savory. NO STRONG HERBS

Eggplant - Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Spinach

Lettuce - Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Cucumbers, Onion, Radish, Strawberries

Melons - Corn, Nasturtium, Radish

Onion - Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Cucumber, Lettuce, pepper, Squash, Strawberries, Tomato, Savory, Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Peas

Parsley - Tomato

Peas - Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Corn, Cucumber, Radish, Turnips, Onion

pepper - Onion

Radish - Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Cucumber, Lettuce, Melons, Peas, Squash, Hyssop

Spinach - Celery, Eggplant, Cauliflower

Squash - Corn, Onion, Radish

Strawberry - Bush Beans, Lettuce, Onion, Spinach, Cabbage

Tomato - Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Onion, Mint, Corn, Fennel

I hope something in this post is of help.

I plant everything everywhere. I've planted veggies in my flower beds. If there's an empty space, i fill it.

I leave scarlet beans climb the clothesline poles

don't let all the companion planting stuff intimidate you. start small. you can hardly every go wrong with variety. it's better to plant everything everywhere as tamara said than plant a large plot with just one variety.

oh, and i did pickles last year for the first time. i'll just say it's out of my system now! ha ha but you have time to think about that later.

I take alittle care with where I plant things because somethings will cross polinate like tomatoes and squash. Not a good flavor combination. And since I harvest my seeds I don't do multiple species of the same veggie. Like different peppers unless I can plant them at least 50 feet apart. So that when I trade banana peppers the person gets banana peppers not a cross between spice and banana peppers.

But I do agree with mixing flowers and veggies and herbs. The plants like it that way. And it is beneficial for all of the plants as long as you don't put things together that don't do well together.

[quote=tkhooper]I take alittle care with where I plant things because somethings will cross polinate like tomatoes and squash. Not a good flavor combination. And since I harvest my seeds I don't do multiple species of the same veggie. Like different peppers unless I can plant them at least 50 feet apart. quote]


hhhmm...I didn't know that about planting similar species together. I've always done several peppers together and this year I have two tomatoe species together. I've never NOTICED any cross polination. I don't collect seeds though. is it only a problem if you collect the seeds? I'll keep all this mind for next year. I'd like to learn how to collect seeds from my own plants one of these days.

how the heck do yall do that quote thing where it's in the box? i've tried to do it a dozen times.

Oh...a question on a gardening forum I can answer! You are cutting off part of the coding when you snip the quote. The beginning should look like this w/out spaces. [ quote = name of person you are quoting ] and the end should look like this w/out spaces [ / quote ]

tk...sorry to disagree, but it's not possible for tomatoes and squash to pollinate each other, they're totally different species. I have a feeling someone gave you bad information.

That's good to know peppereater. Thankyou for telling me.

Wow.. thank you all for the replies!! I really appreciate all the information.. I still haven't found anyone to come till our garden for us. I am so upset. I really want to get things started.

I think I am going to do slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes for salsa, Roma maybe.. is that right? Um, cucumbers, for eating and pickling, lettuce, green onions, green peppers, other peppers for salsa, not sure what kind there, suggestions?? We might try some corn too.

They way I see it, the only thing that might happen is A) the stuff won't grow or won't do well and B) I won't have the time/energy to harvest it all. But either way, neither of those things is life or death. Nothing BAD is going to happen if I get in over my head. I will just take a step back and re-prioritize and move on. Right?

Try growing some sweet corn.If you water and fertilize them well,they'll reward you with ears that are full of tender,sweet,juicy kernels of corn.

Yeah, that is in my list. lol

I planted some corn last week and it's sprouting already.

Oh congrats!! I wish we lived in a warmer state. =(

I almost stomped them because I confused them with grass.lol

Ok, here is my updated list.. with what I have bought so far and what I need yet... Garden is being tilled Friday, so I will be planting this weekend, as long as the weather is nice!

Waiting to be planted
1 Early Girl Tomato
3 Super Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes
4 West Virginia Hillbilly Tomatoes
3 Orient Express Cucumbers
3 Straight Eight Cucumbers
4 Bell Boy Green peppers
2 Green peppers, not sure what the name was, the greenhouse I went to today doesn't put picks in their plants. Grrr.

Still need to buy
Corn
Green onion sets, if they are still available
Lettuce seeds
Jalapeño peppers-for salsa
~any other peppers I decide to use for salsa, I need to find a recipe!
Roma Tomatoes-for salsa
Small Cucumbers for pickling

So that is the update!! I am so excited.. the garden is getting tilled on Friday and I am gonna be playing in the dirt all weekend as long as the weather cooperates!!

I am putting in a mini garden this year...well that is if I get the o.k. from the doctor to do it.

Oh Tamara, I hope you do!! If nothing else it is so therapeutic!!