Starting to plan my Spring garden
By miacis3101
@miacis3101 (82)
United States
January 14, 2008 5:35pm CST
It won't be long until spring and that all important planting of the first seeds. I'm already starting to plan my vegetable garden and I would like to try some new things this year. I know that I will be growing some white cucumbers and I would like to try growing tomatoes upside down. That's something I'm not quite sure about so I'm going to have to research how to build the boxes I need to grow them. Carrots are going to be another issue. Every time I have ever tried growing carrots, I've ended up with tiny little stumpy, bitter things. The ground in Pennsylvania is a bit too rocky to grow good carrots so I thought I would build some deep planter boxes and try a mulch mixture. I'll also be turning one of our planter boxes into a tiered garden for some ever bearing strawberries. Other than that, I'll just plant what looks tasty. Any suggestions or advise for an amateur gardener would be greatly appreciated.
2 people like this
5 responses
@lightningMD (5931)
• United States
16 Jan 08
I cant wait to start the garden. We didn't have one last due to moving in June. Today I am going to plant some herbs inside in pots. I'm planting cilantro,basil,sage,parsley,dill and oregano. This spring I plan on growing tomatoes,peppers,carrots,lettuce,spinach,peas,beans,and potatoes. I might plant corn too.
1 person likes this
@miacis3101 (82)
• United States
16 Jan 08
I wish I could plant corn but it takes up too much room for my bitty garden.
1 person likes this
@oscarbartoni (2581)
• United States
17 Jan 08
If you want corn, you don't have to have long rows of it but rather blocks of four plants in each direction, that is four short rows that have only four plants in each row of larger. That will be sixteen plants that only take up 9 square foot of space with the plants only 8 inches apart. That would give you up to 32 ears of corn. Plus you can grow pole beans, cucumbers, or some type of vine up the corn stalks to conserve on land space.
@miacis3101 (82)
• United States
17 Jan 08
THAT is a really good idea! With me trying to grow the tomatoes upside down in special planter boxes, I save that room as well. You may have just given me the best idea for a garden yet! THANKS!!!
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
15 Jan 08
I am so ready for spring. I love the fun of creating things from seeds. We are putting good soil in the garden this year and following the square foot gardening method. I have never done it this way before but I am very excited to try something new. We are growing lots of tomatoes this year. For Christmas we are giving our friends and family salsa baskets full of lots of different kinds of homemade salsas.
If you are looking for good dirt you should try a mix of 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 vermeculite( Might be misspelled ). It will give you great plants plus it cuts down on weeds.
Good luck.
@miacis3101 (82)
• United States
15 Jan 08
That is an excellent suggestion for the dirt. I'll have to see if I can get a good compost around here since I haven't started one of my own. I'm not even sure HOW to start one. The soil is so rocky out here that any garden I grow has to be above ground. I have a couple started already but I'm hoping to put a couple more in before planting season really gets going.
1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
22 Jan 08
I have a very small area for gardening, too, and have decided to try growing tomatoes hanging upside down to save space. Carrots need loose soil, like potatoes. If you plant them in containers, you could even add a little sand to help keep it loose.
I don't have rocky ground, but it's very poor in nutrients. I build raised beds and filled them with compost and topsoil and that works very well.
@oscarbartoni (2581)
• United States
15 Jan 08
My garden area was very rocky and even pulled a couple of good sized boulders out of it. I just turn it over each year and add organic material as the year goes by for the worms to help incorporate into the soil. As I turn the soil over I take out the rocks and anything else that does not belong there. After a few years it is getting easier to dig because it is getting looser and looser because of the worms working in there. I could probably just let the worms do the job and keep an organic mulch on the garden for the worms and also to help control weeds and water evaporation will have to wait and see because we just got 18 inches of snow on the garden this morning and it is beginning to snow again.
I cannot wait until spring gets here.
@rockvixen (894)
• United States
14 Jan 08
Sounds like you're ready for Spring, and it is just around the corner. You can grow tomatos upside down, it's what my mother in law does. She purchased a giant pot and put plenty of soft soil in it, then she planted tomato seeds into that soil, and she always has baby tomatos growing, plus they are so good. You can grow anything, even carrots, if you use what I mentioned the big pot with fresh soil and seeds. Just place them in a place where the sun is warm but not too hot, and not too cold. I wish you well on your garden. Now you got me inspired.
1 person likes this
