If you wanted to start a garden, what would you plant?

IvyQ · Post by **IvyQ** » 06-05-2007 03:47 PM

i have a plot set aside for a garden in my back yard. it's a small area... i was just wondering, in this day and age... what would be the essential vegetables to start with? my grandmother canned, and i would be open to that...

also, i love my salads i take for lunch everyday. i definately will be planting kale if my location permits....

Shimmering Auro · Post by **Shimmering Auro** » 06-05-2007 04:02 PM

A lot of my gardening must be done in containers as the ground is too cold to properly nurture very much. A small greenhouse is out of the question as my front yard has the coveted southern exposure.

My container garden includes several varities of lettuce, many herbs and tomatoes. The backyard garden includes cabbage, zucchini, radish, sugar snap peas and broccoli, all of which are not doing very well.... during this summer of very little sunshine and a whole lot of wind.

HurricaneJoanie · Post by **HurricaneJoanie** » 06-05-2007 09:52 PM

Tomatoes -- any variety of beefsteak would be a good choice. Plant marigolds around them to help keep bugs away.

Shirleypal · Post by **Shirleypal** » 06-05-2007 10:08 PM

Ivy you can grow lettuce all summer just keep planting it two weeks apart, onions grow well, try Vadalia if you like sweet onions. Green peppers are easy to grow also. If you are going to continue your garden every year plant asparagus, they take about two to three years to get established but than will come up every year on their own.

IvyQ · Post by **IvyQ** » 06-06-2007 10:08 AM

Thanks for the tips! I love lettuce, especially kale (they are loaded with vitamins). Valallia onions are the best! Also red peppers! Have you priced them in the store lately? ourageous! I would like to plant some beets too, I can't find them fresh in the stores anywhere.

Divinorumus · Post by **Divinorumus** » 06-06-2007 05:17 PM

Some tomato and corn plants would go in first, and then if there was any room left I'd have some salvias planted, but all of this would be contingent on whether I could find some criminals to plant and then later pick the veggies for me when they are ready.

rev6 8 · Post by **rev6 8** » 06-06-2007 07:23 PM

If you like different kinds of lettuces you can try Radichio. Also there is a cross breed of brocolli and cauliflower on the market called brocoflower that is very good and high in many essential nutrients. I myself have a few chick pea plants because I prefer the fresh beans than the ones in the store.

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 06-06-2007 10:03 PM

Hi Ivy! I see you're in Missouri? How hot are your summers? I figure fairly hot?

If you plant lettuce now, I'd plant it where it will be shaded in the afternoon. Lettuce likes it cool. In hot weather, it'll just quickly bolt and go to seed, or just burn up. You might do best to plant lettuce aiming for a fall harvest.

Same for kale. I'd aim for a fall harvest at this point. Any of the cabbages (kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and of course, cabbages) also prefer cool weather. They will also bolt to seed quickly in hot weather.

On everything you plant at this point, you need to look up your date for first frost, then check the time needed for maturity of each thing you want to plant, and make sure there is enough time for it to mature before it gets killed by frost.

You can plant tomatoes and peppers in pots also. That way, you might be able to stretch the season out a little by taking them in or otherwise protecting them from the frost.

You should be able to grow just about anything you like in your location, but at this point in the growing season, you're gonna need to pay attention to the things I mentioned above.

See if there is a gardening club or a master gardener program in your area (google it). They could probably give you some great advice.

Anyhow... that's my advice.

(I've been gardening for over 30 years, and have grown gardens in Michigan, Tennessee, and California, if that helps any.)

turtle101 · Post by **turtle101** » 06-06-2007 10:09 PM

Catus's.....................................................lol

get it.............................lol

desert, heat, sun.....nevermind

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 06-06-2007 10:10 PM

Oh, and in a small garden, I would consider tomatoes and peppers essentials.

Lettuce and salad greens, too.

Green beans are nice IF you have the room. You can grow them in rows or in wide beds. Lettuce, spinach, and any of the greens grow well in wide beds, too.

You menioned beets, and they would be good if your soil isn't too rocky for the roots to form properly. Same with any root vegetable.

Definitely skip corn if you only have a small space. To pollinate properly, corn generally needs at least 5 rows about 15' long. You can sometimes get a harvest out of smaller plot, but that's the smallest usually advised.

Hope some of this helps!