Another gardening season is just around the corner, so I decided to go ahead and start up this thread since last year's was such a big success.

What's everyone planning to plant this year?

Me: Tomatoes, Corn, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Okra, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Peppers, Onions, and whatever else catches my eye when I go seed shopping.

1/17/2011 10:38:51 AM

As usual I only have a balcony to work with. Sadly though the balcony I have now gets not a whole lot of sunlight, which will make things more difficult.

I have a rosemary plant out there now. Had thyme but I killed it

Anyone have experience growing green leafy veggies in containers? Should I even bother since it doesn't get direct sunlight? Maybe I'll just steal some of my parents' yard for my vegetable growing needs lol.

1/18/2011 11:02:42 AM

swiss chards, lettuces and kales do well in containers. you could even do some baby spinach.
if they don't grow big, just pick them small. baby vegetables are apparently the rage.


I'm going to do tomatoes and peppers for sure. I tried eggplants last year but they never did anything. same for the cucumbers and beans, i have to find something more specialized to the climate. I'll do collards and maybe some broccoli/broccolini if i can find it. I want to cut down some of the trees on our microscopic lot (overgrown purple plums, meh) so I have a teeny bit more room and a lot more sun, but its an ongoing debate with the husband.

This fall I started building a rock garden in a narrow sunny strip beside my driveway. I'm gonna try and flesh that out more this year after they remove the stones from the fields around here. I've also got to investigate how to move a boulder two people can't pick up because I want a larger stone for the centerpiece. I could just go buy one I guess rather than risk injury to self and vehicle, but I am loathe to pay for a rock.

1/18/2011 11:17:47 AM

really want to keep getting in to my container gardening...but I think I might be moving into a new house during the season and that mess will be a pain in the ass to move

1/18/2011 11:34:32 AM

I'm really excited about my Cherokee Purple tomatoes, I also have some yellow cherry tomatoes and Bulgarian hot peppers!!! I ordered a few more things but those are the ones I'm most excited about. I chose tomatoes that are supposed to do well in heat, the blazing summer weakened my poor maters last year

PS ... you beat me to the 2011 thread!

2/14/2011 12:56:23 PM

*This is assuming I don't end up moving in May, which would of course be right in the middle of garden season

Will definitely do tomatoes (sungold, brandywine, cherokee purple, maybe something tart like a german green or a Mr. Stripey), hot peppers, bell peppers, arugula, chard, lettuce, and herbs. Maybe eggplant (had one last year that did well, but yield compared to the space it took up was questionable). Maybe cantaloupe (how much space does it need?)

I'm also kind of interested in blueberries--how do they do in containers? I tried growing strawberries in a container last year and it did not end well--I think we only actually had 2 that were big enough to eat that birds didn't get to first.

2/14/2011 1:01:49 PM

I took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday and got my garden turned. I have started collecting poop from the neighbor's horse and donkey and throwing it on there as well. I will give it one more good turn before I smooth it all out and build the mounds. Man, I am SOOOOOOOO excited!

2/14/2011 2:40:48 PM

^^ I've grown Ichiban (japanese eggplant) in a 5 gal container before, it produced heavily. I dunno about blueberries, I feel like they take a couple years to get going

2/14/2011 8:54:33 PM

*sigh*

since we're trying to move, I won't be doing a garden this year. Just a few flowers to spruce up the front and back porch for showing our townhouse. If we get located in time, I'll buy a seedling of my favorites and go from there.

good luck to everyone w/ theirs and the newbies starting out i look forward to seeing pictures of this year's harvests!

[Edited on February 14, 2011 at 9:01 PM. Reason : ]

2/14/2011 9:00:45 PM

Hmmm.....I just started to think about seedlings for a spring garden in one of my beds- chard, lettuce, maybe radishes. I wasn't impressed with the onions last year.

For summer, I need to mix in the aging compost into our beds first, then I'll probably do some more specialty plants(because we have also have a CSA for the first time)- tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, okra. I may put in some smaller 4'x4' beds on the side of the house and do wildflowers or vining plants, haven't decided which.

2/14/2011 9:05:49 PM

I'll do jalapenos, bell peppers, dill and basil from seed

I'll get a few starter tomato plants. no luck with seeds last year

thinking about using a planter box in the back yard. I need more (and better) soil than I had last season.

2/14/2011 9:31:23 PM

With tomatoes I think it's well worth it to go ahead and get some good starter plants rather than trying to futz with seeds. If you're local to Raleigh I'd highly recommend NC Tomato Man at the Farmers' Market--http://nctomatoman.weebly.com/from-the-vine-vegetable-seedlings-2011.html

How difficult is it to grow pepper plants from seed? Can they be started outdoors, or do you have to start indoors? Because of the direction my house faces, the only window that gets reliable sunlight and doesn't have anything blocking it is in my dining room, and I don't know if we want trays of seedlings colonizing our dining room table for a month.

2/15/2011 5:31:23 PM

Where's a good place to get planters that you can hang off your balcony? There used to be a guy at the flea market that sold nice ones but I haven't seen him down there in awhile. I checked out Lowes and Home Depot but theirs all just looked cheap/boring.

2/15/2011 6:05:07 PM

Blueberries... I don't know how well they like a container, but I don't see why not. You can buy a bush with flowers/berries if you want fruit the first season. Protect from birds.

I have a couple ornamental peppers and a Habenero I've wintered, and I plan to add to that a red bell and a jalepeno. My basils are looking pretty scraggly, so I'll probably start with all new little babies for the season. I'll add some other herbs.

Plus the Bostons and a flying dragon bitter orange.

2/15/2011 7:28:34 PM

i'm definitely ready for gardening season this year. last year i built two 4'x4' raised beds. i'm going to build two more this year. i had a serious problem getting enough sunlight last year. tomatoes and cucumbers did well but my bell peppers were small and i didn't get a single damn jalapeño pepper.

this year i want to plant tomatoes, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, bells peppers, jalapeño peppers, green beans, and a variety of herbs including basil, thyme and rosemary.

2/16/2011 12:49:57 PM

We get all of our seedlings from the Guilford County Prison Farm. They're super cheap, and we had great success with them last year. Especially the tomatoes and cucumbers.

2/16/2011 4:20:46 PM

Me: Peppers (lots of variety), typical herbs, tomato (first season), cucumbers, lettuce, onions, carrots, and strawberries.

Does anyone have a website that they use to time the planting of their crops, specifically for NC weather? I planted everything at once last year and some of the plants didn't do well. For example, I planted the strawberries too late and I'd like to time them a little better this year. I've read a little about the 'predicted last frost' but I'm looking for more of a detailed website that tells me when to plant each crop. Anything?

2/17/2011 2:23:20 PM

We planted all of our stuff at the same time last year and the only thing that didn't do well was the onions. The bell peppers came in really late, but lasted longer than everything else. I was still picking peppers in late October.

Never done strawberries, but I love them so I might consider that this year.

2/17/2011 2:35:42 PM

i too would like a recommendation on a good gardening site especially for NC

2/17/2011 4:11:50 PM

Here is a good planting guide put out by NCSU.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/quickref/vegetable/plantingguide.html

[Edited on February 19, 2011 at 11:21 AM. Reason : a]

2/19/2011 11:21:02 AM

here's a table copied from a garden book, note the dates on the bottom are written by me for Charleston, so adjust accordingly for Raleigh (shouldn't be too different) I like the graph format better than a bunch of numbers. I'll post spring and fall planting dates.

2/24/2011 7:54:01 PM

AWESOME!! You guys rock!!

i don't see any herbs on there though. i'm guessing those can be planted right after the last freeze...mi-april time frame?

2/25/2011 10:29:03 AM

^ yep, should be good. They grow really fast though, so you could probably even get away with planting in May

2/25/2011 10:34:07 AM

^ If they're annuals then yeah, after the freeze is a safe bet.

To be honest, I have such tough luck starting most herbs from seed I just buy the seedlings. Only ones I've had luck with have been basil and cilantro from seed.

For anyone looking for something a little different to plant this year, I recommend mizuna. You see it all the time in gourmet salad mixes and it's pretty idiot proof as far as planting goes.

When picked:


Planted:


You can use it in salads, pastas, soups, pretty much anywhere you would use spinach or cabbage.

I'm thinking of ordering these seeds from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Mustard-Greens-Certified-Organic-Heirloom/dp/B002O4SH46

2/25/2011 10:36:25 AM

When we start anything from seed, we plant them in flats first. Once they grow to about 3-4 inches, then we plant them in the ground. You might want to give that a try.

2/25/2011 11:42:49 AM

Eric....have you stated any seeds yet?

2/25/2011 11:43:38 AM

^^ That is what I do but still no luck except with the basil and cilantro Well and veggies and stuff always do fine too.

2/25/2011 12:28:17 PM

^^We typically don't start anything until mid-March.

We don't do a whole lot from seed anymore, mainly because it is so much easier to just buy them when they are already a few weeks old. Like I said earlier, the Guilford County Prison Farm has an amazing selection of seedlings and they are dirt cheap. It also helps because we can start them later, so there is no fear of the random late frost wiping everything out

2/25/2011 1:16:57 PM

i'll probably order something like this soon to start my seedlings

http://www.burpee.com/seed-starting/burpee-ultimate-growing-system-prod001254.html?catId=cat100004


[Edited on February 25, 2011 at 1:50 PM. Reason : /]

2/25/2011 1:50:19 PM

Thanks Nerdchick and DJ! That's exactly what I needed.

I put in my onions, carrot seedlings, and strawberries this weekend. Let's hope my strawberries do better this year...

Any suggestions for a first-time 'mater grower? Pot vs. raised bed garden? Easiest type to start out on? Full sunlight I'm assuming.. I've got both a full sunlight and partial sunlight raised bed.

2/28/2011 10:50:48 AM

It sucks. I think once the trees outside out apartment start to get their leaves there's not going to be nearly enough direct sunlight for anything to survive

2/28/2011 11:04:22 AM

^^ I, too, put out four bunches of onion seedlings this week.

I'd recommend Better Boy for you. It's disease resistant and delicious!

2/28/2011 11:19:26 AM

^^^ in my experience, cherry tomatoes do better in containers than regular sized tomatoes. (I like any of the Sweet 100 cherries) Big tomatoes do better with space for their roots, but I have used containers before they just won't produce as well.

As for varieties, I had a problem last year with the heat, my heirloom tomatoes became very unproductive later in the summer. This year I'm trying the varieties "Cherokee Purple" "Costoluto Genovese" and "Brandywine," which are all said to do well in the heat. I would try a couple different varieties (hybrid and heirloom) and find out what works well for you.

Also I thought in the South you were supposed to plant onions in the fall? I've never been motivated when it comes to onions, carrots, garlic, etc. digging them up is so much work and they're so cheap at the store!!

2/28/2011 3:12:11 PM

I've done Brandywine before and had success in the heat.

2/28/2011 4:28:08 PM

^^ The garden center I get all my stuff at just started carrying onions last week and I think it is more of a Spring crop. However, I plant garlic in the Fall and the two are cousins so it would make sense to me that onions could be planted then too.

Speaking of garlic, my first batch of five different varieties last year was AMAZING. I saved 3 heads of each variety and replanted them this past October. They are growing up a storm with this warm weather recently! I would highly recommend heirloom garlic Nerdchick. It's a much more intense flavor and some of them can be fairly "hot". They will always be part of my garden from now on. Grocery store garlic is like domestic beer to heirloom garlic's microbrew Imperial IPA, if that makes any sense...

2/28/2011 7:45:22 PM

^ well that sounds convincing to me!! what varieties do you use? I love garlic so that sounds great

2/28/2011 8:10:03 PM

I bought a sampler pack off of gourmetgarlicgardens and he picked five varieties he thought would grow well based off my location.

3/1/2011 7:41:53 PM

Last summer had 2 gardens in planter boxes on my balcony.

Peppers/Okra plot: okra, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, anaheim green chiles, long red cayenne, habanero peppers.

Herbs: mint, cilantro, rosemary, chives, oregano, basil.


This spring I will till one in the yard same general mix with maybe a couple additions, maybe do some tomatoes for cooking/salsa, I don't really eat them. Probably squash.

3/1/2011 9:01:41 PM

My okra was off the chain last year. Before I cut it down it was over 7ft tall

3/2/2011 4:10:14 PM

I love me some red okra. Anywhere around here you can get it?

3/2/2011 4:46:31 PM

Started some things from seed on my window shelf about a week ago. Just got my first sprouts yeterday!

Basil, oregano, parsley, cilantro, cayenne pepper, santiago pepper, hot portugal pepper, and beefsteak tomatoes.

Only the basil and oregano have sprouted so far - and either a cayenne pepper or the tomato (..I honestly can't remember which seeds were in which planter, whoops)

Wanted to start building some raised beds, but our young puppy has decided that since the ground isn't frozen anymore, he likes digging. Sigh. Afraid to start anything in the backyard.

No one has really talked about flowers, but this is the first spring in the house, and I'm planning on redoing our front bed. Picked out my bulbs today - elephant ear, asiatic lily, gladiolus, peacock orchid so far... Really liked Montbretia, but no one local has it that I've been to so far. Want a nice ground-covering (low height) perenial, in a white color.. but I haven't made a decision there yet. Candytuft seems to be the only thing I kinda like, but I'm waiting to see if I find any more options.

3/9/2011 6:40:15 PM

I looooooooooooooooooove cosmos but they bloom in the fall.



I also like nasturtiums. You can eat them too




Here they are in white:


[Edited on March 9, 2011 at 7:04 PM. Reason : s]

3/9/2011 7:03:20 PM

We decided that the only thing we are doing from seed this year are the sunflowers. Just don't feel like fucking with it.

Planting the onions this weekend.

3/9/2011 7:07:42 PM

I just spent half of my spring break building 2 more garden beds, getting the compost/dirt for them, and planting seedlings or from seed for a total of 4. I've got onions, leeks, chard, carrots, broccoli, radishes, lettuce, kale, beets, kohlrabi, spinach, I forgot all coming up. I dug out 4 18" by 12" holes on the side of the house and put in berry bushes- 2 blackberry, 1 blueberry, and strawberry/asparagus with better soil. I also planted petunias, pansies and marigolds to be pretty and trap plants for bugs, re-potted my herbs, and now need to re-pot my houseplants.

As soon as my compost ages some, I'm going to dump the excess into the low spot in the yard and start a shade wildflower garden to suck up some of the moisture over there. I've already put all the fill from the berry bush project there.

Pictures maybe someday.

[Edited on March 10, 2011 at 1:29 PM. Reason : yar]

3/10/2011 1:26:54 PM

I got the onions and garlic planted yesterday. I had to build a separate box beside the garden since we haven't done the final till on the main garden. But we needed to get them in the ground, so hopefully they will do better this year.

3/14/2011 9:54:53 AM

Garlic in the spring? When you plant this in the spring, when do you harvest?

What's the normal length of time that it takes a garlic clove to turn into a bulb? Can I just start throwing garlic cloves in the ground and expect to profit a few months later?

3/14/2011 6:30:01 PM

I've had trouble lately with critters getting into my compost bin. (I don't have a lid) Do I just need to bury the food deeper? I don't compost meat or dairy. Some people advise against eggshells but I do use those.

But there are some critters that I've been happy to see ... WORMS!! my compost is absolutely exploding with worms. here's a typical cross section. I can count 7 in just this pic!! they love my food scraps and can finish a bowl in about 2 weeks!

3/14/2011 7:20:07 PM

Quote :

"Garlic in the spring? When you plant this in the spring, when do you harvest?"

Yeah, it is ideal to plant garlic in the Fall. But in the south you can plant it in the late winter/early spring with decent results. Typically the bulbs are smaller though. The only reason we planted them now is because they came with the onion bulbs we bought, so if they don't turn out so great it's no big loss. Plus my girlfriend is not a huge fan of garlic, so I'm really just growing it for me.

This is the first year we have done garlic, so not really sure when to harvest. Websites suggest 3 weeks after the leaves turn yellow, so that's what we are going to go with. Of course, I will keep you updated.

3/15/2011 10:08:11 AM

^^ Awesome compost! I couldn't wait for my 3-4 month old compost anymore (it's mainly old straw and wood shavings anyway from the chickens) and dumped it into the low spot in the yard and have been mixing it with topfill and the dirt already there. I used some old chainsaw-cut log pieces from the back of our house to frame the dirt in for a shady bed. Hopefully I can throw the wildflower seed down this weekend!

And my seeds have been sprouting in my new beds after all the rain we had. I am about to put in a tomato cage for the pea seedlings to start climbing up.

3/15/2011 9:08:36 PM

Any suggestions for growing strawberries? Last year I had a few plants and all I got was some very small berries. This year I've started a little earlier, but the berries are still small at this point. Once you put them in the ground, do you need to tend to the plant or do anything to get them to grow to full size berries? Do they need fertilizer or anything extra?

I've got mine in the garden, propped up on a "mound" and living in an organic compost/natural dirt mix. Any suggestions?

3/23/2011 6:25:35 PM