A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Gardener's Chat Garden plans 2015...

Another new year for new things and ideas. What are your plans?

I have been informed that this year Grandgirl will be needing her own garden So that is on the 'need to do list'.

I also plan on adding some peonies to my 'want list'.

Interesting you should ask because right now there is a man in my field working on getting it ready for a garden. I've decided to move the garden closer to the house - to the area where I put the raised beds last year. I'm not exactly sure why I wanted to do this except that it's closer to the house, I can see it from the kitchen window but no real reason.

Sunny, peonies are nice but they sure don't bloom for long and then it's over. I have a white one and a red one.

Yay, a new garden. What will you plant this year?

Peonies bloom a long time here, I think it's due to the cooler weather. I had one but I had to move it for DH to dig a trench and it died. I want to plant some where I can't have shrubs due to snow removal in Winter. Do you have any?

I like peonies for cut flowers. The weather didn't work right last year and I didn't have as many blooms as usual. Hopefully this year will be better. I had thought of planting a few more plants but didn't because they just don't stay that long.

I was just this morning thinking about my garden and I've decided not to plant a lot. I don't think I want to put the time and effort into it. I say this every year though. For sure I will have squash,tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, and maybe some green beans. I don't have good luck with corn so I don't think I'll mess with that. I'm not sure about okra. We love it but it's so cheap at the farmers market that I'm not sure it's worth the work.

Wonder if I can grow green beans and potatoes in raised bed.

I had potatoes in the raised bed I had back in the day. They did OK, but not as good as they might in just a regular garden.

IF you do use a raised bed, I think I would plant them as deep as usual & then mound the dirt up as usual.. I think that is where I made the mistake. I did not mound the dirt in my raised bed....plus the dirt below the ground level was not worked up loose, so it was not easy for the potatoes to burrow down.

I see no reason why green beans would not do wonderful in a raised bed.

I had Peonies back at the farm...Pink & White ones. I always wanted red ones but never got around to planting any. I have none here. MY issues with them were ants...lots & lots of ants...

MY garden is very small. I usually have asparagus, a herb bed, tomatoes, & then the main part changes from year to year. It gets too hot here for green peppers to do well, so, this year perhaps potaotes..we shall see.

They plant everything in raised gardens at the nursing home...they have such a nice set up for the elderly to get their hands in the dirt. I agree with Junie...you'd need a deep one for potatoes. You can plant potatoes right into a bag of soil or bucket as well.

If I am not mistaken ants are what are needed to make the peonies bloom. Pototos can also be grown In a bale of straw. I found that growing bush green beans are less work and produce heavy crops and do not require as much space.

Yes, I had heard that about the Peonies as well. I just am hesitant to take cut flowers inside then.

Sounds like upoi have a good working knowledge on veggies. let us know what you end up planting this year, & how it goes.

I hope to have the funds to make a couple of big raised boxes, and a small greenhouse, and many more calla lilies...

YAY !! that all sounds like fun !!

I planted calla lilies once...and I forgot to lift the bulbs in Fall. I haven't tried any since.

I think the ants on peonies help keep away harmful insects that love that sticky sap but I'm pretty sure they will bloom with or without the ants. I shake the flowers off before I bring them inside but always end up with an ant or two inside anyway.

I've tried growing potatoes several ways but in the ground works best for me. Squash works so good for me in straw bales but doesn't work for a friend of mine. She's tried twice now and gets better results in the ground.

Thankfully around here we don't have to take our bulbs in for the winter.

The first of the spring gardening catalogs has arrived

YAY !! that means that spring WILL get here soon, right???

Yeah, it was a busy season and I neglected mine; need to start from scratch, lol

All my vegetable seeds are bought.

I plan to order an oak tree whip from a catalog as well, you can't buy them here. They ordered in some and planted them at the local hospital...it has been three years and they are doing well.

I ordered the oak whip seedling...and grandgirl got a pack of multi colored carrots.

Multi-colored carrots??? what are they called--that would be fun to grow...

Kaleidoscope Blend from Burpee seeds. They are a bright color variety. The pack says 20% Atomic Red, 20% Bambino, 20% Cosmic Purple, 20% Lunar white and 20% Solar yellow.

thanks so much--I will see if I can find them !

I wish I could send seeds in the mail from here.

Grandgirl got a pack of lupines and red sunflowers to add to the mix.

both very nice choices...good for her !!!

I planted the potatoes in the ground and started tomato seeds in the pretend greenhouse and it's rained every day for over a week. I started the straw bales for the squash so at least they will love the rain.

How do you do the straw bales for the squash, Sheri ?? that sounds interesting.

I have seen straw bale gardening and it seems to work very well.

Junie, I started using bales after the dreaded squash bugs destroyed all my squash one year. It's worked wonders. The bales have to be set out weeks before you plant in them and a high nitrogen fertilizer needs to be put in a hole in the top of the bales to start the straw breaking down. If it doesn't rain, which it has for me the 3 years I've used them, you have to water the bales because they dry out quickly. You can find websites all about it where people grow all their vegetables in them. Some people use the same bales 2 years in a row but I leave mine sitting and after a while spread them out like compost. It's really just a raised bed but the squash has more room to spread out than in a regular raised bed. Last year people who planted their squash in the ground didn't have any because of the rain. I did :)

Also if you have trouble with neighboring cats in your garden....they won't dig in a straw bale

Neighbors cat is here daily.. Must be a good mouser....