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Anyone else plannng 2013 garden??

16K views 150 replies 98 participants last post by  Dragonid 
#1 ·
I realize its a little early, but hey, why not? Anyone else putting together plans for their garden? Or "other " garden related projects?

I feel like for me the last couple of years has been really bad. If i was dependent on the food... well my family and I would most likely be dead. Or scavenging the forest floor for weeds. :rolleyes:

I seem to be stuck, all my seedlings start out great, I get everything planted, then the critters come. Last year was seriously looking up around midseason. Numerous green tomatoes, then the deer came along. End of story.

This year, well next season, I have some projects in mind that will hopefully re-inspire me and to keep my 2013 gardening thread alive. Shortly after Christmas I plan to install some 8 foot fencing. Hopefully the deer will simply look at and decide its not worth it. Next up, I plan to start growing some early crops in my green house. So that should be interesting as well. Green houses have their own sets of problems to deal with, so that should be something different to look forward to.

Believe it or not, I already started some seeds. 4 kinds of lettuce. As soon as I can, they will go out in the green house. Also, I started 6 kinds of pepper seeds. If yall recall, I have a love hate relationship with peppers. In all my years, my success rate has been less then worthless. I have been watching videos and reading up, looks like its time to start implementing other tactics to get a harvest. Clearly what I have been doing is not working. We will see how that goes.

So how about you? Any projects or plans?
 
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#101 ·
We are lucky enough to have inherited my Dad's gardens a few years back. They had not been worked for years and were very overgrown with vines mimosa trees and grass. Two raised gardens that have poured and reinforced concrete 'curbs', one 20'x24' and the other 32'x20'. The smaller of the two we cleaned out in early 2012 by hand and had great success with it. Planted way too many tomatoes and onions. We also tilled a 24'x10' section outside the garden and planted corn. This fall, I rented a mini excavator and cleaned out the larger garden. Also expanded the corn plot to about 60'x12'. Still undecided on what to plant and where in the garden to plant it but we will get that figured out soon enough.

The land we live on was once an orchard with a lot of semi-dwarf fruit trees (peach and apple mostly) and we are down to about our last peach tree. This year we will begin to re-plant some of the fruit trees. I would also like to pursue grapes for wine production. Overall, we are only using about 1/2 acre of the 6 that we live on. Hopefully we will continue to expand and refine the gardens each year.

Good luck to all in 2013 with your gardens!
 
#102 ·
Starting SFG now.

I am starting my square foot garden planning now.
After moving in to my new apartment, i am looking forward to setting up my 100 ft garden to help in living more cost effective.
I had a garden set up at my mothers for a long time, but i am looking forward to improving on the design.

I will be setting it all up in January.
besides i love gardening.
 
#103 ·
Going to be doing a garden for the first time in five years. I have more room to work with at my current location so I'm planning raised beds. As for varieties, I'm looking to experiment with growing tobacco (possible barter item). I will also be looking at different varieties of beans. What advice can anyone give me for type of beans that do well in the western New York area? And or any experience with growing tobacco in the same region.
 
#104 ·
yep planning already and looking forward to the snow melting. i notice that there are a lot of people complaining about deer, one of my cousins gets the human hair swept up at a local barber and spreads it out around her fields, the deer hate it and stay away. has to be reapplied every so often though not sure how often. also if you know the deer are going to be there i would get my bow and fill my freezer, just a thought
 
#106 ·
I have 2 plots that I tilled at the end of the season last year. one is 105' x105' and the other is 30'x 250'. The aspargus I planted in 2012 will be ready in 2015, the garlick was planted sep 2012. I am still geting some turnips from my fall planting they are under snow now but still good. I have my seed for this year and will be starting tomatoes pepers cold crops soon timed to the last frost dates with exter plants in case of a late frost. My garden never ends their is always somthing to do from ordering seed and planing to harvesting and puting things up.
 
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#108 ·
I'll probably be starting my first garden this year.

I say probably because before I plant anything I have to fence off part of my backyard otherwise the dog will destroy everything. It needs to be a 6 ft chain link fence and it needs to be installed on a small hill. I've never installed chain link before but it looks like a gigantic PIA, and the fact its on a hill increases the degree of difficulty.

So I still might decide the fence is not worth the added expense and effort and scrap the whole idea. Or I could just shoot the dog. :thumb:

Will have to decide soon.
 
#109 ·
I love snuggling up in a cozy chair with seed catalogs and dream of spring. It's the best way to pass a freezing cold night. "AHHhhhhh soon it will be warm enough for basil, basil and tomatoes, ahhh basil tomatoes, tomatoes, and okra, basil tomatoes, okra and melon.... Now it's too cold for kale. but one day soon, it will be warm again.
Wait not too warm, not like last year...
(Even in my winter daydreams, my garden is failing)
 
#112 ·
I'm planning on doing a garden. Last year a friend of mine planted his garden early and was able to harvest alot before the drought & heat kicked in. So the next 2 weeks will be getting supplies for making raised garden beds, T posts and fencing for climbing plants. And get everything layed out and ready to go. I am also wanting to start seeds indoors now. Hoping I can do that as well this weekend. This will be my 2nd attempt at a garden. last year it just burned up or the eggplants & cantolope & peppers rotted before they finished growing. I am learning from my mistakes, and hoping I'll be more successful this year. Also hoping to get a few chickens. Have to figure out how to "hide" that being in the city. AND manage peace between the chickens and the dogs. LOL I have lots & lots to learn!
 
#147 ·
I have not had a garden in about 10 years so looking forward to trying to have one again if I can keep the cats out lol. I would like to have chickens but cats are another problem and though I live at the end of a dead end street with pasture behind me, I still live in the city. I know where your coming from. I love going to pintrest and looking for neat ways to do gardening on apt. patio's, it gives new ideas to get the most out of little spaces. Good luck this year !
 
#113 ·
About half the fall garden is over now. Still have onions, carrots, kale and turnips doing well. Have a couple of broccoli plants that are producing. We put 4 tomato plants in the greenhouse and they are still producing.
We have already started a bunch of stuff for the spring garden. Lots of little seedlings that need tender care.
We are in the process of building about 140 feet of raised bed to try this year.
 
#114 ·
Unfortunately I'm moving into my mother in-law's mobile home that's in a park to help save up money and get our finances straight. Not much room to work with as I'd like, but I'm planning on doing as much verticle growing as possible. Tomatoes, cucumbers and okra across the back fence line using the pre-existing fence line as a stabilizer, then fastening a couple multi-pocketed canvass shoe organizers on one side of the trailer to grow lettuce, onions, brocolli, cauliflower, herbs, and garlic. I'm trying to find more verticle growing ideas as well. Gotta make the most of small spaces. :)
 
#118 ·
Yes, and prolly adding 10-12 fruit trees and a few grape vines, too.

Going to try a ''potato experiment".
:thumb:
 
#119 ·
My 2013 garden plan is a combination of getting back to what we used to do, and trying new techniques and varieties.

We've always been of the roto-till and plant-in-rows school. The last several years, we had a small garden in one spot...it went from awesome to pathetic in a few short years, especially the tomatoes (northeast here). As far as I know, we never practiced rotation in the "old days" but it's worse in a small garden.

Soo...was planning on using the old garden, but having educated myself, will be trying raised beds and new varieties.

Benefits of raised beds:
  • You don't compact the soil by walking between the plants.
  • Your plants have more aerated soil.
  • You can plant more in a small area by "staggering" them.
  • Blocks (as opposed to rows) encourage more cross-pollination.
  • By raising the soil, you'll get "deeper" topsoil. (Even more important if you have ledge beneath your lawn!)
  • You can more easily arrange your garden when you're not constricted to a rectangle.
  • You don't have to use barriers...you can just mound it...or get creative with what to use as barriers.
  • You don't have to kill your back to pick and weed (depending how high and wide you make the beds).

Benefits of ordering new varieties online:
  • Stores may discontinue the varieties you love. (We can no longer get "Early Girl" tomatoes around here.) Seed catalogs have more, especially those who cultivate heirloom seeds.
  • You can grow a variety that's adapted to the weather you have, instead of whatever the superstore carries.
  • You can peruse and plan ahead.
  • You can keep your favorite and try a new variety or two at the same time.
  • You can try varieties for different "types" of gardening (one variety for the raised bed, one for the container, one hanging or indoors, etc).

I'm a procrastinator so the biggest danger in a big project or change is that I'll abandon it. So I'll try the most important new things first:

  • Work compost into the soil several weeks before planting. (Next time, I'll do it in the fall.)
  • Start my own compost pile (never did this before).
  • Mulch the pathways (if my raised beds are of the rake-it-up variety).
  • Have a rotation diagram.
  • Plant marigolds around the tomatoes (supposed to deter pests, plus they're edible).
  • Interplant beneficial plants (carrots love tomatoes, tomatoes or strawberries shade lettuce, plant tomatoes in last year's bean plot because beans fix nitrogen in the soil, etc).

I'm also going to try a couple new things, like garlic (just 'cause it's good for you) and sunchokes (sunflowers that produce edible, good-storing tubers, and which are native to the Northeast to boot).
 
#121 ·
I have never been an excellent gardener. Though I have raised many veggie plants in pots/ buckets. This year will be new for me. My "new year resolution" is to become more self-suffient. No I am not going Grizzly Adams (as of yet). The wife says take it slow or I might overwhelm myself, as I am prone to do. So I planned my garden according to my skill level. I plan on putting in 2 3x8 ft raised beds along with my many pot, buckets. I have a cherry tomato tower planned also. I have already put my onions, and a couple of types of lettuce in long, deep containers and have staked out where my beds are going. With all that is going on, maybe I can save a few bucks from the grocery store this spring/ summer.
 
#124 ·
I ordered a grow light apparatus that contains a mounting rack & fixture today. The heat mat is here and the area is set up. I've got some plastic cups of various types to wash & sterilize so I can repurpose them for seedlings. Reading books. Soon it will be mid-Feb so I can plant my first seedlings!
 
#127 ·
Someone brought up using soaker hoses instead of sprinklers to waste less water, and it just dawned on me that I'll have to worry about that with raised gardens.

Maybe, instead of a bunch of 3'x8' rectangles, I should do two long 3' wide rows...

  • I have a single faucet outside, so how would I splice the hoses? Or can I buy a splitter?
  • Should I make my own soaker hoses? Is there much price difference between a regualr hose and a soaker hose?
  • What do you punch the holes with?
 
#129 ·
I'm seriously considering getting back into market growing again this year. The wife and I took quite a cut in our paychecks recently, so I need to do something to make up for it. And I just love that cash money.

I'll be seeding onions here within the next week or two, and then on to some more leafy greens. I'm still picking off my Winter crops of greens but getting close to the end for those.
 
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