radishes & lettuces & peas & beets are in full swing here in LA, get it while you can...the scorch will come...
i love your calendula barrier to the tomato patch.
good luck with melons, last year i let them take over the back yard and got 1 (delicious) mini watermelon...will that stop me this summer? probably not!
I’m hoping for more leafy greens and zinnias this year and slightly less tomatillos (they really produced last year!) Also trying to figure out an easy way to transplant onions grown from seed, they are so delicate!
Totally know what you mean with tomatoes, but I just heard of Tomatomania here in SoCal and I can’t help but try it out! I’ll probably also plant some cherry tomatoes as those tend to yield a lot more fruit.
Excited to go through my seed stock and pick out some cuties to plant. Last year we planted a habanero that grew lots of fruit but we completely forgot we don’t love super spicy peppers hahaha
Always hard to remember what you actually like eating vs. growing. Last year I actually looked at the grocery list to figure it out. To Anne's point about tomatillos above -- that's why I don't grow them! One pozole later and I'm sort of... good on tomatillos for a little while??
Tomatomania is this insane touring seedling sale -- apparently they have hundreds of varietals?? I have only heard tales, but not seen it myself. I’m hoping to get some pointers on how to get more than 3 tomatoes in a season when I visit! https://tomatomania.com/
Grocery list is a great way to decide on crops! All the seeds just look so tempting in their little sleeves...
Ok, I’m definitely breaking out the graph paper this weekend and tackling the pile of seed catalogs my husband has been grumbling over.
A few things that have worked for me:
I also use wire shelving for my starts, and I use lengths of chain and carabiners to raise and lower the lights. It works great, though not as pretty as ribbons and bows.
I live at the edge of the woods and the deer and rabbits are voracious. We bought a fence kit from Critter Fence (https://www.critterfence.com/), and it’s definitely done what it says on the tin. Birds are still a problem, but that’s manageable. Installing the fence took a couple weekends (and a borrowed auger for our rocky soil), but it was straightforward.
Oh, and last year I bought a tiered grow tub from Gurney’s for strawberries and it fit a lot of plants into a small space (birds ate all the fruit, though, damn their eyes).
A very delayed comment but for what it’s worth tomato hornworms turn into hawk moths which are the most incredible hummingbird sized moths and are amazing pollinators. Obviously doesn’t help your tomato crop whatsoever lol but they’re absolutely awe-inspiring.
Also highly recommend Turtle Tree Seeds!! Biodynamic farm in the Hudson valley with a huge variety of veggies and flowers.
I also have to make a plug for including some natives maybe outside of your glorious sounding veggie garden! Doug Tallamy’s book Bringing Nature Home is a great place to start. Also Rebel Hill Farm in Liberty, ME is my absolute favorite. The owners are so sweet and the plants are gorgeous and grown organically. Happy gardening!!!!!
Late to the comment section here, probably too late to be useful, but have you considered using soil-blocks in your trays instead of plugs or pods or anything? The two inch ones are pretty useful (the mold runs at about $40)(Johnny's Selected Seeds is where I got mine), you can fit about 36-40 in a standard tray. They also need to be much wetter than regular seed starting soil in order to work so maybe they'd be good for an otherwise black thumb?
I know, everyone has been saying that!! I ended up going with the cow pots after all, even though the blockers were highly recommended by friends and and bunch of people here. I was just nervous about how freeform it is? Probably nonsensical, but, well, there you go. 🤷🏻♀️
radishes & lettuces & peas & beets are in full swing here in LA, get it while you can...the scorch will come...
i love your calendula barrier to the tomato patch.
good luck with melons, last year i let them take over the back yard and got 1 (delicious) mini watermelon...will that stop me this summer? probably not!
xxJ
Irrational garden exuberance!!
The calendula are supposed to be pretty menacing and I think they're doing a pretty good job putting out that vibe.
I’m hoping for more leafy greens and zinnias this year and slightly less tomatillos (they really produced last year!) Also trying to figure out an easy way to transplant onions grown from seed, they are so delicate!
Zinnias!! Good idea. I want to have a flower-laden garden this year, too.
I don't get onions either. Last year they each set out one little shoot and then that was it? Will have to investigate this and report back...
Totally know what you mean with tomatoes, but I just heard of Tomatomania here in SoCal and I can’t help but try it out! I’ll probably also plant some cherry tomatoes as those tend to yield a lot more fruit.
Excited to go through my seed stock and pick out some cuties to plant. Last year we planted a habanero that grew lots of fruit but we completely forgot we don’t love super spicy peppers hahaha
WHAT is Tomatomania?!!
Always hard to remember what you actually like eating vs. growing. Last year I actually looked at the grocery list to figure it out. To Anne's point about tomatillos above -- that's why I don't grow them! One pozole later and I'm sort of... good on tomatillos for a little while??
Tomatomania is this insane touring seedling sale -- apparently they have hundreds of varietals?? I have only heard tales, but not seen it myself. I’m hoping to get some pointers on how to get more than 3 tomatoes in a season when I visit! https://tomatomania.com/
Grocery list is a great way to decide on crops! All the seeds just look so tempting in their little sleeves...
Ok, I’m definitely breaking out the graph paper this weekend and tackling the pile of seed catalogs my husband has been grumbling over.
A few things that have worked for me:
I also use wire shelving for my starts, and I use lengths of chain and carabiners to raise and lower the lights. It works great, though not as pretty as ribbons and bows.
I live at the edge of the woods and the deer and rabbits are voracious. We bought a fence kit from Critter Fence (https://www.critterfence.com/), and it’s definitely done what it says on the tin. Birds are still a problem, but that’s manageable. Installing the fence took a couple weekends (and a borrowed auger for our rocky soil), but it was straightforward.
Oh, and last year I bought a tiered grow tub from Gurney’s for strawberries and it fit a lot of plants into a small space (birds ate all the fruit, though, damn their eyes).
Chains and carabiners... That is much more professional, good one. 🙃 Going to check on critter fence, too!!
A very delayed comment but for what it’s worth tomato hornworms turn into hawk moths which are the most incredible hummingbird sized moths and are amazing pollinators. Obviously doesn’t help your tomato crop whatsoever lol but they’re absolutely awe-inspiring.
Also highly recommend Turtle Tree Seeds!! Biodynamic farm in the Hudson valley with a huge variety of veggies and flowers.
I also have to make a plug for including some natives maybe outside of your glorious sounding veggie garden! Doug Tallamy’s book Bringing Nature Home is a great place to start. Also Rebel Hill Farm in Liberty, ME is my absolute favorite. The owners are so sweet and the plants are gorgeous and grown organically. Happy gardening!!!!!
Late to the comment section here, probably too late to be useful, but have you considered using soil-blocks in your trays instead of plugs or pods or anything? The two inch ones are pretty useful (the mold runs at about $40)(Johnny's Selected Seeds is where I got mine), you can fit about 36-40 in a standard tray. They also need to be much wetter than regular seed starting soil in order to work so maybe they'd be good for an otherwise black thumb?
I know, everyone has been saying that!! I ended up going with the cow pots after all, even though the blockers were highly recommended by friends and and bunch of people here. I was just nervous about how freeform it is? Probably nonsensical, but, well, there you go. 🤷🏻♀️