What to Plant Where and Which Varieties? Squirrels, etc.

I would like to plant some veggies and fruit and need advice on which varieties would do well where. I have a very limited amount of southern exposure, a fair amount of shaded west exposure, and a limited amount of partly shady northern and partly shady north/west exposure. I am more interested in variety than quantity, as this is the first year and I am learning. I also plan to learn to can using what grows, so I don't want my garden to be too big! Whatever I can't use or can, I am planning to give to friends and the food pantry.

I was thinking of the following:

Partly shady northern exposure:

(4 or 5) Paste tomatos in hanging tomato planters (Roma)
(?) Strawberries in strawberry planters (which ones?) Is holly nearby a problem?

Partly shady north/west exposure

(1) Eggplant in a hanging tomato planter (Imperial Black Beauty)
(2) Green peppers in hanging tomato planters (Cal Wonder Bell)
(?) More strawberries in strawberry planters (which ones?) Is holly nearby a problem?
(2) Blueberries (which ones?) Is holly nearby a problem?
(4) Red raspberries (which ones?) Is holly nearby a problem?
(2) Horseradish (can it go in the ground near the blueberries and raspberries?)
Bloomerangs!!!

Shady western exposure--no way to hang planters

Little sweet carrots in 2 earth boxes (Kurota Chantenay)
White onions in earh box (which ones?)
Red onions in earth box (which ones?)
Green onions and celery in earth box (which ones?)
Garlic in earth box (elephant)
Red potatoes in earth box
(1) sweet pie pumpkin (which one?) and 1 gherkin for pickles (which one?) in an earh box
Bloomerangs!

Southern sunny exposure--no way to hang planters

Green beans (Blue Lake bush) in earth box
Green beans (purple bush) in earth box
Wax beans (Gold Rush bush) in earth box
Peas in earth box (which ones?)

There are TONS of squirrels, birds, cats, and an occasional bunny rabbit here. How soon do I have to cage everything with chicken wire? Or would the mesh fabric do? Or the bird neting? Or does it depend on which fruit/veggie?

And how do I convey to the landscape people NOT to run the mower so it sprays everything with gravel, dirt, and weed seeds? And NOT to spray anything on the fruits and veggies?

Thank you.

GrayThumb - that's a lot of questions, but I can understand that because you are a beginner.

Vegetables need at least six hours of full sun each day. When I was much younger, "they" said we needed eight hours.

Horseradish spreads rapidly - I grow mine in pots.

Raspberries spread by under ground runners - personally I wouldn't plant them at all because they are hard to control and get rid of once they spread.

Rabbits eat vegetables, although there may be some they don't like. My garden is fenced to keep them out! They look cute early in the morning in the front yard eating the white clover.

Squirrels we have a lot of. They take bites out of fruits, which is annoying. My little dog chases them out of the garden!

Your landscapers work for YOU, tell them what you want, and if they don't listen, try another company that will.

Your garden will keep busy and I need to comment on Squirrels. My veggie garden is totally enclosed which tool me weeks to build . It needs reinforcement because of the snow.
Blueberries had fruits but the birds beat me to it.
onions are easy to grow but needs a lot of sun and good soil. i plant green spring, egyptian walking , and shallots.
I never tried hanging but my daughter tired without good results.

Happy gardening!!! Bellie

Thank you.

Is there someplace where there is a list of veggie plants and how many quarts to a plant (or plants to a quart)? I know this would be a range for each kind and species, based on all the vaguaries of weather, soil, etc., but it would be helpful for planning ahead...

Thank you, again.

Hi Greythumb, Welcome to the Ozarks. I'm south of you in Arkansas. That was a lot of questions. Good to see someone so enthused, First heres a link to the UMO EXTENSION.They can answer all questions.
http://extension.missouri.edu/main/DisplayCatory.aspx?C=2
Your county agent could help also and will be happy to help you. Maybe at your county seat.
They do reccomend Cardinal Strawberrys for here.
Let us know how things go.I,ve grown strawberrys in large containers but not hanging baskets.
Vickie

As long as I raise the earthboxes and strawberry pots off the ground where the bunnies can't get at them or put fancing around them, can I wait until the blossoms of the various plants are done before I put up the chicken wire to keep the squirrels out? How far off the ground would the boxes have to be, or how high would the fencing have to be to keep the bunnies out?

Thanks, again!

Try bobex or liquid fence. I've had good luck with both. As long as you really stick with it they work and are safe around food crops. One snif of the Liquid Fence and you'll know why the deer and rabbits hate it.

GrayThumb - squirrels can leap 15 feet from a standstill position. Unless something is completely enclosed in a metal cage with openings smaller than their head, you cannot keep out squirrels. They are great climbers, too. When I lived in a second floor apartment, squirrels would climb up the side of the building to get to my bird feeders. I've watched them chew on my metal bird feeders to soften the metal until it gives way to get to the seeds. I've had them chew through a heavy plastic bucket to get to bird seed. Here at my home, they chewed through the door on our lean-to to get to the bird seed. I now keep the seed either in a heavy metal bucket with a lid, or in the freezer.

Hawks and Eagles eat squirrels!

Nothing keeps out a determined squirel. And they're bold as brass on top of it. I think that's what gets to me the most. Don't rob me blind and then look at me like I'm the intruder when you do it. This area is rotten with them and we have foxes and cars. My friend sits on her deck on Sunday morning with her coffee and air rifle and sharpens her shooting skills using them for targets. She's a champion marksman and the fox that lives in her bushes has the most beautiful fur.

Do squirrels bother veggies before the veggies set? In other words, can I just protect the plants from the bunnies until the blooms get pollenized and then do the top part of the enclosure(s) to keep out the squirrels?

Do bunnies jump or just stand on their hind legs and stretch to nibble on our veggies? How high off the ground should a planter be, or how tall should a fence be to protect against bunnies?

Thanks, again, for all the help!

I do not have problem with bunnies but sure with squirrels!!!!. Squirrels eat almost everything!!! Belle

Bunnies can really stretch to get what they want. I really hate to make anyone unhappy but squirrels and bunnies both make delicious stew with potatoes,onions, carrots and a touch of garlic,salt and sometimes with dumplings added. LOL
Vickie

And just think, its lean meat, like chicken!!!!

Cando1 - LOL! great humor. I've never had rabbit stew, but that was a good comeback.

Everyone else:

First time veggie gardener. Mentioned to hubby that I wanted a small garden and he created a raised bed - U-Shaped 16' on the 'legs', 4 feet wide, 12 inches deep, with an inset of 12' x 8' (160 cubic feet I figured out)

We have southern exposure (zone 9-10 in South Florida - already upper 80s, will be 90s/100s before summer's out), 6-8+ hours daylight, full sun (except some of the plants in the back - they're not getting full sun until noon-1 pm. EST)

From left side to right side:

North Side of Leg:
Two Zucchini Squash*
Iceberg "Head" Lettuce (that grow above or below ground?)*
Sweet Onions*
Garden Beans-1**
Carrots*
Iceberg "Head" Lettuce (grew it in two different spots - thought they were different and didn't want cross pollination)
Buttercup Squash**

Eastern "Back" of Planter:
Sugar Snap Peas**
Strawberries x 3*
Cucumbers**
Summer Squash**
Two Watermelon Plants**
Bell Peppers** (in the southeast corner of the 'leg/back' - this gets most of the shade in the morning)

Southern "Leg" of Planter:
More Sweet Onions* (Just filled in some spots)
Blue Lake Bush Beans**
Beets**
Arugula*
Four Big Beef (I think they're non-hybridized or even heirloom) Tomato plants*


Off to the southern fence near the corner of the property, we also planted some cantaloupe from seed.

* = we bought plants from Home Depot
** = we planted by seed in Jiffy Seedling Starter Kit and transplanted

Notes: The beans on either leg of the planter were placed directly into the ground only six days ago and are already two to three inches tall.
We also planted carrots directly from seed in addition to the Jiffy Pots we planted. Neither Jiffy Pots, nor direct seed plantings have sprouted.
The Jiffy Pot bell peppers have not sprouted, either. We do have some plants we started from some seeds we got out of store-bought peppers that we can transplant, but will they actually produce fruit?

We plan on putting some more watermelon along the southern most fence, and my kids want corn, which figured would also put along part of the southern fence.

We started some sunflower plants which we hope to plant near planter box and also along the fence to sort of screen from the neighbors (and code enforcement in my village), which would also attract butterflies and birds. Those are in Jiffy Pots and are sprouting well. Species Mammouth and Lemon Queen.

The marigolds that I'm starting from seed (so I can plant them and protect my garden from slugs) aren't working out so well. The corn my daughter started in the Jiffy Pots looks a little like spider-web-type mold - that normal?

I'm going to see if I can post a pic of the garden size, and will post another photo tomorrow of what it looks like with some veggies growing in it.

I don't really know if I have any particular questions, but would like to get some beneficial insects like lady bugs, nematodes, praying mantis, etc., and wanted to know everyone's experiences. I'm even doing the compost thing, so I'm open to suggestions there, too.

I just REALLY don't want to start getting into the cycle of using a bunch of chemicals on everything, though I'm not in a strict organic school of thought on the subject.

thanks in advance.

Beautiful beds. Looks like you are well on your way. Seemed to me bell peppers were slow to come up and slower to grow. I'm going to wait and buy plants from a local nursery. I went to Atwoods yesterday. It was so tempting to buy those plants but i know we'll probably have another frost.
I've never liked to use chems either. but had to a couple times.
I'm trying to decide now if i want to join a fight against the electric company for using chemicals to kill weeds along their right of ways.

That is so gorgeous, I'm so envious!