Whats Up For Spring?

Has everyone already started their plans for their spring gardens? What's going in? I am trying to plan out my spaces since I just got another space in another community garden, I want to maximize what I grow. Somehow last year really got away from me, so I am trying to be on top of things this year and start my seeds this weekend.

From success last couple of years, I know I want to grow:

Jarrahdale Squash
Jumbo Pink Banana Squash
Lakota Squash
Cocozelle Zucchini
Romano Pole Beans
Peppers (I am not sure what varieties)
Basil (Several Varieties)
Sierra Batavian Lettuce
Tomatoes (Not sure what varieties)
Sweet Potatoes

What else should I include? I want to try some new veggies, just not eggplant. They grow really well for me, I got tons, but I learned that I hate eggplant! No matter how you cook it, I don't like it.

LOL I had to laugh at the eggplant thing, Cause I can definitely relate. I hate it too no matter how it's cooked. Love to grow it and then give it away.

What about cold weather crops, like brocolli, brussels, cabbage, spinach, peas, green onion sets, radishes, or perhaps these for later on,
beets
okra


I'm going to be growing a few new squash this year,

zuchini strato di napoli
zuchini tondo di piacenza
zuchini greyzini
zuchini bianco di trieste
pattison stri mix diff varieties of pattison patty pan squash
pak choi baby ho tau bok
also growing the early prolific yellow squash
rocky ford green flesh melon
cobb gem watermelon
gold rind honey dew
2 kinds of green peas

do yourself a favor and plant sun gold cherry tomatoes. they are hybrids but they re the sweetest tomatoes i have every grown and eaten.

Hear! Hear! on the Sun Golds. If I plant nothing else each year, I plant Sun Golds. I also plant Bright Lights Chard each year as well. No matter what. It is beautiful and tastes good. Also Siam Queen Thai Basil. Can't buy it within a 2 hr. drive from here and I love both to look at it and to use it by the cup full in cooking.

Hum, Where do you get the sun golds tomato at ?

"They grow really well for me, I got tons, but I learned that I hate eggplant!"

hahaha! Kanita, I can sooo relate to that statement. We got so many last year that hubby and I both almost heaved when I showed them to him in the seed catalog this year.

I'm growing several new types of veggies this year: yardlong beans, asparagus beans, devil's ears lettuce, bok choy, chives, bunching onions, radishes, lemon cucumbers. Last year it was too late and about all I got was okra, eggplant, tomatoes and a few yardlong beans.

I'm new to gardening or I'd give you more suggestions.

Johnny's sells them, but probably there are a lot of places that sell them. They are very popular:

http://tinyurl.com/dn5595

Reimer's
http://www.reimerseeds.com/sungold-tomato.aspx

Totally Tomatoes
http://tinyurl.com/c9ceuf

To name a few!

Thanks everyone! I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who get quesy from my memories of trying eggplant. I always hear "Whats wrong with you eggplant is the best". By the way, if anyone needs any eggplant seeds, let me know. You can have them for postage.

Herbie - I will definitely try the Sun Gold Tomatoes, I've never tried them before.

Kathy Ann - The rocky ford green flesh melon & orange rind honey dew sound awesome! I have to look for those. When I was a little girl, the honeydews we ate were always orange and people here in California always try to correct me in saying honeydews are always green.


Pugzley - I really want to grow yardlongs. I totally forgot that someone sent me some in a trade. Pole beans usually do really well for me, so maybe these will as well.

I got those two melons at www.willhite.com

Kanita, I really enjoyed watching the yard long bean's growth. The neighbors were quite impressed and hadn't seen anything like it. They're best for stir fry, but we put them into soups and they are very good that way, too. I like them because they don't have that green bean taste, I never was crazy about green beans, but I really like these.

Mine had a small, beautiful purple bloom that was kind of a triangular shape on them and 2 beans would pop out on each one. You can almost see them growing, they grow so fast once the baby bean comes out. 8 beans were enough for a meal for 2 people. I'll be putting mine in as soon as I have enough sun in the gardening area. I direct planted them and they did ok.

I have never grown yard-longs, but I often cook them because my DH loves them better than any other kind of green bean ( he likes the tiny French ones second best). He says it is because there isn't much bean in them. He means literally the forming bean. It can be fairly large in ordinary green beans but is tiny in yard-longs and he hates beans. How's that for picky?

Wow! Thanks for the info on the yardlongs. I'm looking through my stash for those that someone sent me before heading to buy more seeds.

Thanks Kathy Ann. I have never ordered from Willhite.

I'm trying poblano peppers and italian flat beans for the first time this year. The beans are already up and I planted the pepper seeds yesterday. I just got the seeds, I hope it's not too late for them.
I don't like egg plant either. I've tried to like it, but no matter how it's fixed it still tastes bad to me.
I've grown the yellow rind honeydews and like them. One of the best honeydews I've grown was called "Superdew."

Right now I have planted:(and they're all up and growing)
Galia melon
Honey Pearl honeydew
Italian flat beans
Tendercrop bush beans, some ready to pick and some just planted
Cucumbers pickling and straight green, some ready to pick and some just planted
Jubilee watermelons (I had moon and stars plus cooterback melons but the grackles ate them when they came up)
Supersweet bicolor corn
Eva Purple Ball tomatoes
Reif Red Heart tomatoes
Beefsteak tomatoes (these have big green tomatoes already and are about 4ft tall)
Bell Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers (hot and sweet peppers are in two different gardens)
Grape tomatoes (have green tomatoes on those too)
Native yellow cherry tomato, the fruits are tiny but they are very sweet
Chille Pequin pepper, another native, very tiny fruit, very hot

I also have lots of cool weather crops that are ready to harvest or almost ready
radish
turnips, two kinds, regular purple top and a red one that is very good
mustard greens
lettuce, several kinds
onions
shallots
scallions
broccoli
cauliflower
kohlrabi, two kinds
carrots
potatoes, three kinds
Pole beans white lady but they don't do so well here with all the wind we get.

I have these yet to plant (I'm out of room, need to till up another garden)
Okra
Charentais melons
Spanish melons
Sweet potatoes

Wow, what a garden, Calalily. You will not regret growing Italian flat beans. They are meaty and tender and Poblano chiles are the same. They are huge and thick-meated and so very good for stuffing. They are great, too, for folks who can't tolerate much chile heat. They are mild and flavorful.
My next door neighbor is Mexican and she and her children love Crema de Poblano. I haven't tried it but I did make Rajas from poblanos. It is pieces of roasted, pealed poblano in a cream sauce, eaten as a sauce on meat or even as a side dish. Yum!

May be a good one for me to add. I'm just getting to where I use peppers well. before I wouldn't use 'em for anything much besides stir-fry.

If you guys haven't already see Calalily's pictures of her gardens go take a look. They are something to behold.

Jerry

Hi,
We are in NC 7A and have peas in the garden but they have not germinated yet. I have lots in the greenhouse, though. Tomato's cukes, cabbage, broccoli, peas, geraniums, asters, marigolds, shasta daisy, english daisys, calendula.

In our coldframe we have 3 types of leaf lettuce and spinach that we are picking and eating gladly.

Okay so I definitely need to get my seeds started asap.

Calalily where did you get red turnips from?

Where do we find Calalily's pictures of her garden? I am very eager to look.

kanita - if i d-mail you a eggplant parm recipe will you try it. i promise you that it is the best you have ever tried and will be in my wifes cookbook that will be published this spring (hopefully)

Wow! Now that's a garden! Neat and tidy and weed free. And even a palm tree. I am green with envy.

I got the red turnip seeds from Johnny's. I'll have to look up the name. The computer is in the house and the seeds are in the garden shed (for now, not too hot out there). I took some red turnips to a little farmer's market and gave samples. The kids loved them. They're sweeter and juicier than the purple top. We love them on salads. It was great to see little kids come back and ask for more turnip samples!!
Pajaritomt, I use poblano peppers often (love chille relenos, it is second only to fideo con pollo as my favorite Mexican dish). The crema de poblano sounds good. Thanks to you and Jerry for the compliments on the garden. I hate to pull weeds so we use lots of mulch.
I took some photos of the garden Saturday. I'll post them as soon as I move them to the computer. We got over 1/2 inch of slow rain that day.
I made a mistake on the name of the first beans planted. They're Grenoble, a stringless bush bean. I picked about 5 lbs from a 21 ft row yesterday. It was the first picking. They're very good! I can't wait to try the Italian flat beans. We love fresh green beans.
I also have crook neck squash, it has buds but no flowers yet.

I will try it Herbie. I am always willing to try, I will just buy a eggplant for though..lol

Calalily: Are the red turnips you have the red salad turnips from Johnny's called Scarlet Queen Green Stems?

Also, what is the difference between salad turnips and regular purple top turnips?

Kanita, yes, that is the name of them. Salad turnips are to be eaten young (2=3" bulb)and are sweeter and juicier. You can still cook them if you like, my friend said the greens are delicious (I don't like turnip greens)..

Thanks Calalily!