Vegerable Garden - in backyard

So DH and I want to plant some fruits and veggies. We saw a great planter box at a friend's house a few weeks ago and have been talking about it since. DH got some planters boxes at Home Depot today.

What is your fav fruit or veggie to plant? Any suggestions or advise?

Thinking strawberries and tomatoes so far. Maybe cucumbers.
What grows fastest?

I know I have to do some research, but figured I'd ask

Thanks!

Vegerable Garden - in backyard

Tomatoes and peppers are easiest. We also have a lot of herbs.

Strawberries are hard. We actually grow them hydroponically inside.

Re: Vegerable Garden - in backyard

tomatoes and basil

Re: Vegerable Garden - in backyard

I can only plant in planter boxes since my yard is full of rabbits that eat EVERYTHING.
Even fencing doesn't work unless you go down really deep and we don't have the patience for that.

So DH built and awesome planter box. But unfortuenatly it is not deep enough for most fruits and veges.

So I plant herbs.

Chives, mint (for mojitos of course! ), oregano, basil, cilantro.

Vegerable Garden - in backyard

Strawberries are hard, and the season for picking them is June, so planting them now would probably be too late to get started. Dh always has luck with tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, pole beans, herbs. At this point in the year its too late to start from seeds, so get small nplants of whatever you like at a nursery or even Lowe's or home depot. Pay attention to how much space certain things need bc your planter will fill up quickly. Things like cucumbers and zucchini need a lot of room.
Good luck,and have fun!

Re: Vegerable Garden - in backyard

We like to plant different varieties of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and herbs. Zucchini is pretty hardy and grows easily. It also tends to give a lot of fruit. They do have a bush variety so that the vines don't creep. I grew it last year and it was great since it didn't take up as much room as it normally does.

I like to grow cherry tomatoes rather than big tomatoes. They're great for salads and they keep producing all summer.

We tried strawberries last year but had no success. We generally haven't had success with any fruit.

Vegerable Garden - in backyard

tomatoes and cucumbers are easy. This year I have an eggplant plant for the first time. I also have basil and green beans. I tried strawberries 2 years in a row and gave up after not getting a single berry for myself.

Vegerable Garden - in backyard

strawberry bushes take several years to bear fruit. you are actually not supposed to pick them until they have grown for at least a year.

we planted our first box garden this year and so far it looks amazing! i'm ridiculously excited about it. i hope it actually grows some edible vegetables!

Message edited 6/12/2015 7:49:22 PM.

Re: Vegerable Garden - in backyard

Strawberries aren't that difficult if you start with a few good plants. They will produce fruit well into the fall. Just keep them covered from the birds and squirrels or they will eat them all up! Cucumbers are very easy, so are string beans and peas. Peppers, tomatoes and broccoli do well. But too hot for broccoli now, you can plant it for the late summer though. This late in the season I would say to get plants already mature, you are kind of late to start from seeds or sprouting. Enjoy it, it's addictive, lol.

Vegerable Garden - in backyard

kale is super easy and grow well into the fall

Re: Vegerable Garden - in backyard

Re: Vegerable Garden - in backyard

Some really easy to handle plants are :
Escarole
Basil
Parsley
Arugula
Lettuce
Peppers

Other easy plants, but need a little more attention:
cucumbers
Tomatoes
squash
string beans


I have all of these growing right now and this is my first time gardening and I have been able to keep with it and an almost 2yr old

Vegerable Garden - in backyard

I was thinking of doing tomatoes and cucumbers but I'm too lazy to put the effort in.

Side story, we also seem to have bunnies and I had no idea there were wild bunnies in Nassau county. I saw a fat bunny in the yard, and mentioned to DH that I was going to see if the neighbor's pet bunny got out of its hutch and how it might be scared. I thought he was going to die and has not stopped making fun of me.

You can take the girl out of Queens.......

Vegerable Garden - in backyard

I had a huge organic raised bed veggie garden for years, I grew 90% of what the produce we ate from April to September. my schedule doesn't really allow for it anymore so now I just have a bunch of containers
Things that grow easy with a lot of sun
Tomatoes
Peppers
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Beans
Herbs( don't need as much sun)
Berries also need a lot of sun and need time to mature, they also attract birds and other animals so it's best to net them.
Things like lettuce, broccoli, asparagus are all cool weather crops so they do better with less sun.
Root crops like carrots, potatoes, etc are challenging
A great beginner book is the " square foot gardener" also books about companion gardening are great for organics and ideas to save space.
Growing food for my family has been one of my most satisfying endeavors! Good luck!

Re: Vegerable Garden - in backyard

We used these seeds Seeds

and planted the lettuce, yellow tomatoes, snap peas, yellow squash, zucchini, spinach, and I think cherry tomatoes. All but one is growing great, but my son moved all the markers so I don't know which is which. I was told lettuce is the easiest to get a fast return on, and of course zucchini always does well. I wanted him to feel successful for our first time doing this.

Vegerable Garden - in backyard

My Dad and I did seeds this year and we grown the basics...

Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Bell Peppers
String beans
Hot Peppers

We even grew some flowers too.. Seeds usually have to be started indoors in containers sometime in March and in the ground 2 weeks after the last frost. Plants that you buy at say Home Depot should go in around Mothers Day. Good Luck!