Starting a new Garden

[Maverickpro201]

Been a long time since I gardened and been away from all the new fancy, Dancy stuff. I grew up on a farm and we planted everything, but our veggie garden was right at 2 1/2 acres. We canned everything or froze it. beside our onion, potatoes and sweet potatoes, they were in bends. Also made all kinds of jelly;s. From our fruits.   

Lots of questions but I will start here.

Where are you all buy seeds? What company's? 

What named seeds do you prefer for, Tomatoes, corn, cantaloupes, watermelons, lettuce, cucumbers, asparagus, strawberries, Green beans, peas, carrots, etc. 

Any good advice is very much appreciated. 

I just moved 25 yard of veggie soil mix. I had hauled in. Garden area soil is 14'' deep. What else would you add to a 50 50 topsoil and compost mix? Have a deer fence up and putting an electric fence around it low enough to keep other critters out.

I will stay in touch with my outcomes and problems. Will post some pictures of my areas as soon as I get them completed.

Thanks  

 

[ness]

14 minutes ago, Maverickpro201 said:

Where are you all buy seeds?

I do a lot of heirloom stuff in my small garden. I like Baker Creek and Seed Savers for those. Also Johnny's, Territorial Seed.

15 minutes ago, Maverickpro201 said:

What named seeds do you prefer for, Tomatoes, corn, cantaloupes, watermelons, lettuce, cucumbers, asparagus, strawberries, Green beans, peas, carrots, etc. 

Here's a list of some of my favorites from a spreadsheet I keep:

Plant Variety

Bean (bush) Dragon Tongue

Bean (bush) Kentucky Wonder

Carrot Danvers

Carrot Scarlet Nantes

Lettuce (butterhead) Bunte Forellenschluss

Lettuce (butterhead) Tom Thumb

Lettuce (butterhead) Yugoslavian Red

Lettuce (crisphead) Webb's Wonderful

Lettuce (leaf) Green Ice

Lettuce (leaf) Red Salad Bowl

Lettuce (leaf) Slobolt

Lettuce (romaine) Forellenschluss

Pea Amish Snap

Pea Dwarf Grey Sugar

Pea Sugar Ann

Tomato (det.) Celebrity

Tomato (det.) Early Girl

Tomato (indet.) Black Krim

Tomato (indet.) Brandywine (Glick's)

Tomato (indet.) Cherokee Purple

Tomato (indet.) Sun Gold

 

26 minutes ago, Maverickpro201 said:

What else would you add to a 50 50 topsoil and compost mix

Sand helps keep the soil broken up and makes for better root growth. I've seen it said to add ⅓ sand, but a little research on that is probably in order. 

 

Good luck!

[Dutch]

1 hour ago, ness said:

I do a lot of heirloom stuff in my small garden. I like Baker Creek and Seed Savers for those. Also Johnny's, Territorial Seed.

Here's a list of some of my favorites from a spreadsheet I keep:

Plant Variety

Bean (bush) Dragon Tongue

Bean (bush) Kentucky Wonder

Carrot Danvers

Carrot Scarlet Nantes

Lettuce (butterhead) Bunte Forellenschluss

Lettuce (butterhead) Tom Thumb

Lettuce (butterhead) Yugoslavian Red

Lettuce (crisphead) Webb's Wonderful

Lettuce (leaf) Green Ice

Lettuce (leaf) Red Salad Bowl

Lettuce (leaf) Slobolt

Lettuce (romaine) Forellenschluss

Pea Amish Snap

Pea Dwarf Grey Sugar

Pea Sugar Ann

Tomato (det.) Celebrity

Tomato (det.) Early Girl

Tomato (indet.) Black Krim

Tomato (indet.) Brandywine (Glick's)

Tomato (indet.) Cherokee Purple

Tomato (indet.) Sun Gold

 

Sand helps keep the soil broken up and makes for better root growth. I've seen it said to add ⅓ sand, but a little research on that is probably in order. 

 

Good luck!

I used to have about 5000 sq ft of garden but got tired and have severly cut back.  I will only mention asparagus.  My bed is 17 years old and gives us way more tha we can use and we eat it every day during season.  When I put mine in I didn’t have a choice of sex.  So I have a mixture of both.  I would never buy female plants again.  They produce red berry (seeds), birds eat them and wherever they poop you have an asparagus plant growing as well as hundreds of them sprouting all over the garden.  Get male plants.

[BilletHead]

1 hour ago, Dutch said:

I used to have about 5000 sq ft of garden but got tired and have severly cut back.  I will only mention asparagus.  My bed is 17 years old and gives us way more tha we can use and we eat it every day during season.  When I put mine in I didn’t have a choice of sex.  So I have a mixture of both.  I would never buy female plants again.  They produce red berry (seeds), birds eat them and wherever they poop you have an asparagus plant growing as well as hundreds of them sprouting all over the garden.  Get male plants.

   If it wasn't for those bird's I would not be able to pick wild asparagus in the fence rows.  Thanks for not being able to have a choice way back when.

[ness]

I had a small asparagus bed for several years. Don't remember the variety, but it was supposed to be all male or female -- whichever is the good one. It wasn't. I got a lot of enjoyment out of that -- always the first thing going each year. But it was a pain to keep clean and it would spread outside the bed like you're saying. 

[Maverickpro201]

On 8/9/2021 at 9:55 AM, ness said:

I do a lot of heirloom stuff in my small garden. I like Baker Creek and Seed Savers for those. Also Johnny's, Territorial Seed.

Here's a list of some of my favorites from a spreadsheet I keep:

Plant Variety

Bean (bush) Dragon Tongue

Bean (bush) Kentucky Wonder

Carrot Danvers

Carrot Scarlet Nantes

Lettuce (butterhead) Bunte Forellenschluss

Lettuce (butterhead) Tom Thumb

Lettuce (butterhead) Yugoslavian Red

Lettuce (crisphead) Webb's Wonderful

Lettuce (leaf) Green Ice

Lettuce (leaf) Red Salad Bowl

Lettuce (leaf) Slobolt

Lettuce (romaine) Forellenschluss

Pea Amish Snap

Pea Dwarf Grey Sugar

Pea Sugar Ann

Tomato (det.) Celebrity

Tomato (det.) Early Girl

Tomato (indet.) Black Krim

Tomato (indet.) Brandywine (Glick's)

Tomato (indet.) Cherokee Purple

Tomato (indet.) Sun Gold

 

Sand helps keep the soil broken up and makes for better root growth. I've seen it said to add ⅓ sand, but a little research on that is probably in order. 

 

Good luck!

Thanks, I will post some pictures when I get the gate done. Probably will not plant any veggies until next spring. 

[MOPanfisher]

7 minutes ago, Maverickpro201 said:

Thanks, I will post some pictures when I get the gate done. Probably will not plant any veggies until next spring. 

If you like spring greens don't be afraid to plant some radish, spinach, lettuce, mustard greens etc.  I have had better stuff in the fall than the winter.  Also if you like early stuff you could include a cold frame and start those greens in February.  A wilted salad along with some walleye or crappie fillets and fried taters is a rednecks dream.  I also used to plant a winter cover crop but have long since quit the big garden.

[Dutch]

If you like really large watermelons I had some 40# Charleston grays.