Comments on: Help! What should we plant this year?

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 17 May 2007 20:27:06 +0000

Ok, update time! We went to the nursery this morning (proper blog update tomorrow). We’re going to plant lots of tomatoes and cucumbers, plus snap peas, pole beans, cantaloupe (might be a stretch), lettuce, and swiss chard. We might add kale later in the season. We already have rosemary in our herb container, and we’ll plant basil to go with it. All this combined with the plums, apples, and raspberries, and I’m giddy with anticipation! Thanks for your suggestions!

By: Vicki

Vicki — Thu, 17 May 2007 18:00:43 +0000

I hear mint grows really well in Canada. It’s great to have fresh mint for Mojitos!

By: Mel

Mel — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:16:53 +0000

You can always use the Gold method… our “garden” is flourishing beautifully with dandelions & crabgrass (no need to publish this comment)…

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 16 May 2007 06:51:54 +0000

Well, we’re doing a kids garden..pumpkins, watermelon, peas, radish, rainbow carrots, lettuce. We’ll get strawberry and tomato starters later.

By: Kim

Kim — Wed, 16 May 2007 00:15:11 +0000

Thanks for your suggestions! I forgot to mention in my post that it doesn’t get hot enough here to grow peppers; we’ve tried several times. I’ll look into swiss chard and arugula – thanks Carol!

And Carol, what would you like to know about our composting? We use the black composter you see in the photo; we’re lucky to live in a city that helps to subsidize the cost, too. We keep a lidded metal bucket next to the sink in the kitchen, and toss all non-animal-derived (except for egg shells) organic matter into it; we empty it into the composter as needed. This includes fruit peels, the ends cut off of carrots and peppers, veggies that have gone bad, coffee filters (we use unbleached ones; the coffee grinds are great for compost), etc. We also add leaves and other yard waste as long as it’s not going to start taking root and growing in the composter. We put the composter in the area of our backyard that gets the most direct sunlight; it requires a good amount of heat to expedite the composting process.

By: Carol

Carol — Tue, 15 May 2007 23:54:53 +0000

I’d recommend some peppers, swiss chard and arugula. Maybe summer squash instead of butternut? I love to add it raw to my salads. I’d also like to find out more about your composting efforts, if you’d care to share?

Happy gardening!

By: joy

joy — Tue, 15 May 2007 22:55:34 +0000

god knows that every plant i touch turns to a withered, dry mess… but from when i was younger i know we had some luck with strawberries and my mom has had great success with peppers. i, myself, am trying my luck with basil and parsley. i’ll document my progress and cross my fingers that i don’t bring death to my seedlings.