Any veggies gardeners?

I am looking to do a garden (small) this year.

Squash (yellow, zuchini)
Cucumber

Where do you buy your seeds? What types have worked good for you?

Any other tips.

I want to do a raised bed.

Message edited 2/25/2008 1:44:46 PM.

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

I'm at work & can't spend too much time writing but a GREAT book is
"the square foot gardener"

I'll give you more ideas tonight.

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

We buy seeds from a local nursery. Not sure of the brand. For some veggies, like cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers, we buy a small starter plant instead of seeds, and those work really well. (TOO well in fact. We had soooo many cukes last year!)

We have two raised beds made out of cedar. I think they are either 3' x 6' or 4' x 8' (?). Don't use pressure treated wood.

We have to cover the gardens with a mesh screen to keep the bunnies and squirrels out. Also we installed a drip irrigation system (very cheap and easy).

We don't add use commercial fertilizers or bug sprays but we do add new compost every spring.

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

Kelly turned me onto square foot gardening 2 years ago and I'm hooked.

I have trouble "harvesting" cukes at the right time, so I gave up. I do roma tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, jalenpeno peppers, brocolli, strawberries, watermelon and herbs. I tried onions and garlic this years, but they weren't really worth the trouble IMO.

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

Is it the "method" from Mel Bartholomew?

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

I have a veggie garden. Last year was the first year I did it but I grew zucchini, cucumbers (they didnt do so well), red bell peppers and a variety of tomatoes. I also did basil, parsley, oregano, and thyme.

This year I want to switch it up. NOt sure what I want to grow yet, but I buy starter plants. I think it's a bit easier.

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

the biggest part of SFG is the soil "recipe" the raised beds & the sections to keep it organized are great but the soil is what allows it to be an easy orgainic garden. I now use compost from my own pile but the first year I bought compost & the other ingredients at a nursery.

I start just about everything from seed, but I have a greenhouse & this year I'm adding heating mats so that is why I do it. Some nurserys sell organic seeds & seedlings, I won't buy seedlings if they've been soaked in chemical fertilizers. I order lots of stuff online,
the cooks garden
gurneys seed
jungs seed

I hand water & we have automatic sprinklers, most gardeners water way too much which leads to root rot & other diseases.
I use lady bugs, praying mantis & other organic methods for pest control & I use all organic fertilizers like the manure from our rabbit, composted chicken manure & a product called terra-cycle which is worm poop.
I also add fish meal & other products to specific areas depending on how the plants are doing.

Another technique I use is companion planting, there are a few great books on this, one is called "carrots love tomatoes" and it allows different plants to natually benefit eachother, sort of like marigolds around the garden but taking it to a new level. SFG makes it easy to use companion planting because its so easy to organize.

For everyone that has done a veggie garden or just wants to get inspired a great book that even has a few recipes is "this organic life"
Its an easy, inspiring read by a woman that grows all the food they eat in a suburban setting in the hudson valley.

HTH, let me know if you have more questions...I'm probably forgetting stuff.
Maybe LIF will put the link the gardening video back up for the spring

Message edited 2/26/2008 6:52:29 AM.

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

Posted by KellyFG

the biggest part of SFG is the soil "recipe" the raised beds & the sections to keep it organized are great but the soil is what allows it to be an easy orgainic garden. I now use compost from my own pile but the first year I bought compost & the other ingredients at a nursery.

I start just about everything from seed, but I have a greenhouse & this year I'm adding heating mats so that is why I do it. Some nurserys sell organic seeds & seedlings, I won't buy seedlings if they've been soaked in chemical fertilizers. I order lots of stuff online,
the cooks garden
gurneys seed
jungs seed

I hand water & we have automatic sprinklers, most gardeners water way too much which leads to root rot & other diseases.
I use lady bugs, praying mantis & other organic methods for pest control & I use all organic fertilizers like the manure from our rabbit, composted chicken manure & a product called terra-cycle which is worm poop.
I also add fish meal & other products to specific areas depending on how the plants are doing.

Another technique I use is companion planting, there are a few great books on this, one is called "carrots love tomatoes" and it allows different plants to natually benefit eachother, sort of like marigolds around the garden but taking it to a new level. SFG makes it easy to use companion planting because its so easy to organize.

For everyone that has done a veggie garden or just wants to get inspired a great book that even has a few recipes is "this organic life"
Its an easy, inspiring read by a woman that grows all the food they eat in a suburban setting in the hudson valley.

HTH, let me know if you have more questions...I'm probably forgetting stuff.
Maybe LIF will put the link the gardening video back up for the spring

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

Posted by smdl

Posted by KellyFG

the biggest part of SFG is the soil "recipe" the raised beds & the sections to keep it organized are great but the soil is what allows it to be an easy orgainic garden. I now use compost from my own pile but the first year I bought compost & the other ingredients at a nursery.

I start just about everything from seed, but I have a greenhouse & this year I'm adding heating mats so that is why I do it. Some nurserys sell organic seeds & seedlings, I won't buy seedlings if they've been soaked in chemical fertilizers. I order lots of stuff online,
the cooks garden
gurneys seed
jungs seed

I hand water & we have automatic sprinklers, most gardeners water way too much which leads to root rot & other diseases.
I use lady bugs, praying mantis & other organic methods for pest control & I use all organic fertilizers like the manure from our rabbit, composted chicken manure & a product called terra-cycle which is worm poop.
I also add fish meal & other products to specific areas depending on how the plants are doing.

Another technique I use is companion planting, there are a few great books on this, one is called "carrots love tomatoes" and it allows different plants to natually benefit eachother, sort of like marigolds around the garden but taking it to a new level. SFG makes it easy to use companion planting because its so easy to organize.

For everyone that has done a veggie garden or just wants to get inspired a great book that even has a few recipes is "this organic life"
Its an easy, inspiring read by a woman that grows all the food they eat in a suburban setting in the hudson valley.

HTH, let me know if you have more questions...I'm probably forgetting stuff.
Maybe LIF will put the link the gardening video back up for the spring

Thanks!

I was actually looking for the video yesterday and could not find it.

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

we do vegetables each year, and DH gets them from a nursery.
We did really well with cucumbers after DH would lean a long baboo stick tilted on the fence and have the plant wrap around the stick and it will grow upwards...we have had HUGE cucumber ever since.

We usually do an array of tomatoes, roma, cherry, grape, and beefstake, zuccini, yellow squash, eggplant.

Re: Any veggies gardeners?

We did raised beds last year - four beds made out of cedar (do not get pressure treated wood). We started from young plants from the local nurseries...though I would like to try my hand at seedlings one year. We also compost so we add that to the garden as well.

I agree with Kelly, the key to boxed gardens is the soil recipe.

This was mid-May...


This was mid-August...


We planted 4 varieties of tomatoes, 4 varieties of lettuce, cucumbers (which failed miserably), 2 varieties of peppers, beans and a boatload of hearbs. This year I'd cut back on the tomatoes and eliminate the cuc's (I haven't had luck ever with cuc's) and maybe add zucchini.

Message edited 2/27/2008 11:00:37 AM.