2014 Garden Plans

[Macky]

You can also lower soil pH by applying sulphur (the form would vary based on your type of soil). We have incredibly alkaline soil here and started adding sulphur three years ago, if memory serves. Different soils will buffer differently, so the pH adjustment may hold for a while or it might go up again within a single season. Luckily for us, our soil buffers really well. Our pH adjustment holds steady for about two years before we have to reapply the sulphur, and even then, it was at a much lower dosage.

[milkmommy]

we have tomatoes spinach peppers lettuce beans peas and broccoli watermelon as well as some herbs growing right now We will be waiting till early spring to get more into the ground but hope to get the rest in before the heat hits.

Deanna

[Macky]

Got my seed list together finally this morning. Everything is here except my spinach and green onion seed (backordered). The first batch of peppers is already on the go under the lights and the second round was seeded last night along with the leeks. Oregano is growing as well as my rosemary and tall curry cuttings. The bay laurel is seeded, but that's a slow-to-germinate plant.

Asparagus: Guelph Millennium (established perennial)
Bean (pole): Emerite, Fortex, Rattlesnake
Bean (bush): Gold Mine
Broccoli: Blue Wind, Gypsy, Premium Crop
Brussels sprout: Jade Cross E
Carrot: Bolero, Mokum, White Satin
Cauliflower: Symphony
Celeriac: Giant Prague
Celery: Tango
Corn: Extra Early Super Sweet (SH2)
Cucumber (pickling): Jackson Classic
Gourd: Birdhouse, Luffa (aka. cee gwa smooth)
Leek: Lancelot
Onion: LaSalle (yellow), Red Baron (green), Red Zeppelin (red)
Peas (English): Alderman (pole), Cavalier, Homesteader, Legacy, Maxigolt
Pea (snow): Norli, Snowflake
Pea (snap): Sugar Snap (pole)
Pepper: Boldog Hungarian Spice (sweet), Pasilla Bajio (100 to 250 su), Aji Dulce (500 to 1,000 su), Ancho San Luis (2,000 to 4,000 su), Guajillo (3,000 to 8,000 su), Jalapeno M pepper, Purple Serrano (5,000 to 22,000 su), Fish Pepper (5,000 to 30,000 su), Chili Grandé (5,000 to 35,000 su), Long Red Slim Cayenne (30,000 to 50,000 su), Filius Blue (30,000 to 50,000 su)
Potato: will choose varieties in spring, but will at least include Yukon Gold and Russet
Pumpkin: i (hulless pepo), Racer (maxima)
Raspberries (unknown variety, established)
Rhubarb (unknown variety, established)
Spinach: Regiment
Strawberry (alpine): Ali Baba (red), Yellow Wonder (white)
Strawberry (everbearer): Pikan
Tomato: Applause (in process of stabilizing hybrid; at F4 seed this year), Cherokee Chocolate, Dufresne (aka. Savignac), Garden Peach, Gold Medal, Indian Curry, unknown tomato from Israel (given to me by a friend, old seed that I'm going to try and germinate for him)
Zucchini: Eclipse

Kostyn’s Red Russian garlic (marbled purple stripe)
Leningrad garlic (porcelain)
Northern Quebec garlic (porcelain)
Persian Star garlic (purple stripe)
Rose de Lautrec garlic (weak-bolting hardneck)

Cilantro: Calypso
Dill: Bouquet
Horseradish
Oregano
Parsley: Flat Leaf Italian
Sage
Tall Curry
Thyme

Foxglove: Fine mixed (still sort of undecided on this one as it's poisonous)
Lupine: Russel hybrid (red), mix collected from neighbour's garden
Marigold: Queen Sophia
Nemophila: Baby Blue Eyes, Penny Black
Poppy: Ladybird
Rudbeckia: Prairie Sun
Sunflower: Jerusalem Gold
Sweet Pea: Matucana
Zinnia: Will Rodgers (red), Envy (green), Illumination (pink), State Fair (mix: lavender, orange, pink, purple, rose, scarlet)

And finally, these are (non-veg) seeds I've either never grown before or have had trouble germinating in the past: Bay Laurel, Quince, Stevia, Swamp Rose.

[canadiyank]

Hey how did your pink-flowered strawberries turn out, Macky?

[Macky]

They were awesome! (And sheesh, you've got a good memory! lol) DH said he especially liked that they weren't as sweet as other varieties. They're sweet, but you notice the flavour before you notice the sweet, which is nice. We had a lot of them stolen by birds, so I'm putting them in a spot this year that will be easier to cover with netting. Starting another two dozen Pikan this year to expand the patch (last year's plants didn't send runners after being planted outside) and am trying alpine strawberries for the first time (just targeting a dozen of those to see if we like them; there are a zillion seeds in the packet).

ETA: I'm declaring this my 'Year of the Pepper and Pea'. Eleven pepper varieties and eight types of peas.

[canadiyank]

Mostly I remembered b/c I have them, too. Mine send out runners sporadically.

[Macky]

They've stopped producing my favourite hybrid broccoli, so Gypsy (it's replacement) and Blue Wind are on trial this year. Luckily, I still have some Premium Crop seed left over, so I can grow them side-by-side for a direct comparison. We lost ALL of our broccoli last year (35 plants) because we were away at that crucial moment where they needed the BT (the bacteria only kills cabbage worms when they're young). That's NOT happening this year!

---------- Post added at 11:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 AM ----------

What variety are yours?

[Benjaminswife]

Originally Posted by mom2boys

Can you revive it?? the better question is, "does it ever die?!?!"
I was told to plant my mint in a pot and it wouldn't spread.
I have an entire hedge of mint. Its the one thing that will drive me to buy roundup. it wraps around the end of the house, around the side and halfway up the side of the house. Thats about five years of growth.

LOL I guess I am good then.

Originally Posted by RoseOfGrace

@BenjaminsWife, those are some of our favorite herbs too. My husband especially likes cilantro, so I try to keep it around. And there is nothing like fresh basil, tomato, fresh mozzarella and balsamic reduction salad... yum. If you have room (or want to combine basil with your landscaping), there is a basil that has the most beautiful lavender blooms which is a great addition to the more traditional basil plants. We have a pretty sage that has flourished in our garden, even starting to spread like a weed. I need to give some away or transplant some of it elsewhere this spring.

That sounds nice. I need to look into that.

Where do you guys buy your seeds? Last year I bought a bunch at a local store and then bought some online through a few different places. I spent some time yesterday looking over their sites but still not sure who to go with.

[Macky]

This year I placed orders with Stokes, Veseys, Johnny's, Tomato Grower's Supply Co., and Trade Winds Fruit. I buy seed and supplies in person at Early's Farm and Garden when we go into the city. I buy very little at the local greenhouse because they (have to) cater to the (very boring) varieties preferred by the local folks. It's hard to even find a good white potato locally; everyone here grows red for some unknown reason (even the greenhouse's owner doesn't understand that one, we chat sometimes ). Oh, wait... yes, I do get my sulphur from him, just rarely ever seeds.

ETA: As a general rule, stay away from box stores and grocery stores and hardware stores, etc. Buy direct from the seed grower whenever possible and a dedicated and reputable seed supplier next. You'll almost always get better germination from proper seed growers/sellers.

---------- Post added at 12:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:44 PM ----------

I should mention, the shop I buy from in the city - Early's - gets a lot of it's stock in bulk (at least it used to), from OSC (Ontario Seed Company) and repackages them in their own branded packages. It's neat to see their back room. If you buy from a smaller shop that you *know* isn't growing their own seed, ask them where they're sourced. If they don't want to tell you, that's a telling sign.

I'd like to buy more Thompson & Morgan seed. I'm finding some really neat varieties that are good for my short season, varieties that I don't see repeated again and again in everyone else's catalogues.

[canadiyank]

Originally Posted by Macky

What variety are yours?

I can't remember! Started them years ago from seed. They've done pretty well but mostly I planted them as a front-yard ornamental.

[itzj]

Subbing cause I need a kick in the tush. The kids are wearing me out, but I so need to get moving here.

[purstrength]

I need to plan too.

Does anyone have ideas for lights? I don't have a dedicated space that is very big for starting.

When can one use and outdoor plastic greenhouse?

[RoseOfGrace]

Originally Posted by Benjaminswife

Where do you guys buy your seeds? Last year I bought a bunch at a local store and then bought some online through a few different places. I spent some time yesterday looking over their sites but still not sure who to go with.

I try to buy from people who grow close to my state or region (OH/Midwest) and who have a nice variety of organic heirloom seeds. So, my top three favs to buy from are http://www.anniesheirloomseeds.com/ (Michigan), http://www.rareseeds.com/ (Missouri), and http://www.johnnyseeds.com/ (Maine - a bit further away, but likely to sell more cold hardy varieties for my area).

[purstrength]

Originally Posted by RoseOfGrace

I try to buy from people who grow close to my state or region (OH/Midwest) and who have a nice variety of organic heirloom seeds. So, my top three favs to buy from are http://www.anniesheirloomseeds.com/ (Michigan), http://www.rareseeds.com/ (Missouri), and http://www.johnnyseeds.com/ (Maine - a bit further away, but likely to sell more cold hardy varieties for my area).

I buy as much as possible from http://www.naturescrossroads.com

They are based out of southern indiana. The variety isn't huge yet, but it's gotten better every year.

[StoryOfGrace]

Just popping in here, but we are currently working on extending our growing season. DH has started to collect the stuff to make some hoop houses, and I'm starting the seed/season planting planning.

Originally Posted by RoseOfGrace

What kinds of vines are you battling CelticJourney? I made the mistake of planting morning glories on our fence when we first bought our house... And have regretted it with a passion ever since! They are horribly invasive and are now all over our yard - even in our garden area which is far away from where we originally planted them.

Yes! I am starting to fight this battle too. They have taken over two of my flower beds and have migrated to the main garden gate...which is on the other side of the house.

Originally Posted by CelticJourney

Unfortunately these totally lack any redeeming value - I'm not exactly sure what they are, but they are strong enough that they take over and bring down trees. As a matter of fact, one of the things that has to happen before I can continue with the garden is to have dh take down a dead tree about 20 yd from the garden - I'm not as afraid of it falling on me as I am the branches that are nested in the vines and might come loose at any time.

Kudzu?