Haven't seen a thread for this yet. So I figured let's get it started. What's are we planting this year? What did we learn last year to make this year more successful?

I'm trying something new: because the winter weather came so late, I made cuttings off of my German queen tomatoes to plant this spring. My only concern is the continuation of disease or stress from last year's plants. Plants were very healthy. One thing I am seeing that I have never seen before is some pock marked leaves. I've never seen it before. Any ideas?

Might be Eriophyid mites.

I got a couple hundred red and 10/15 onions in the ground with the rest of the garden still covered up in black plastic......hopefully frying those damn nematodes!!

Hurricane got me last year. Had a crazy crop of eggplant. Weird plant. Would do 1 at a time, then just blew up and put out like 30 at once, then back to 1-2 at a time.

Anyone in Zone5B? New to the growing area, curious as to what has been successful for everyone in it. TIA

I'm trying to call Mesina Hof to see if I can get some grape vine cuttings, but I don't think I'll be ready to get my vineyard started this year. Just got the property in December.

Might try to construct some raised beds this spring for future veggie planting.

Zone 9A

My Corno di Torro pepper plants survived the first cold snap here in BCS, so I dug them up and put them in pots before the "snowstorm" a few weeks ago. I plan to set them back out in late March/early April, hoping to get a jump start on production.

Trying to scale back on tomato plants this year too - always plant too many. Just started my seeds this week - Black Strawberry, Oxheart, Cherokee Purple, and German Lunchbox.

In the garden now - broccoli, arugula, cilantro, radish, carrots, spinach, bok choy. Hope to get English or snow peas planted soon.

TheVarian said:

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Anyone in Zone5B? New to the growing area, curious as to what has been successful for everyone in it. TIA

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I am. We have a ~4000 sqft garden + berries and fruit trees.

We do carrots, lettuce, green beans, bell peppers (g, r, y, & o), jalapeños, okra, snap peas, shelling peas, snow peas, sweet corn, tomatoes, celery, cabbage, onions, broccoli, broccolini, cauliflower, cucumbers, radish, cantaloupe, potatoes, acorn squash, pie pumpkins, carving pumpkins, Pennsylvania Dutch longneck squash, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, asparagus, apples, tart cherries, pears, and plums.

Long list of herbs too. Wife manages those in 15-30 gal pots.

I think that covers all of it. Some variation based on what we need based on previous production and storage.

Can recommend varieties as well. We're Midwest so would be based on that region.

I've got four molasses tubs to plant this year. Likely two tomato plants, a cucumber plant, and some radishes and lettuce.

anyone got tips on how to make CRUNCHY cucumbers?
I tried a few years ago and realized I needed new variety to help. I got Boston PIckling. Its been 2 years and I can get them good flavor...but they are soggy.

how do I make crunchy ones?

Just ordered seeds. Last freezing day here is usually late April / early May. Going to go to hopefully a permanent no-till this year.

Putting in paw paw trees. Already have peach, apple, pecan, chestnut, and fig trees. I need more acreage! Not enough room!

I've got a lot of work to do in the berry area cleaning it up.

Will hopefully put in some muscadine grape vines this year.

trip98 said:

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anyone got tips on how to make CRUNCHY cucumbers?
I tried a few years ago and realized I needed new variety to help. I got Boston PIckling. Its been 2 years and I can get them good flavor...but they are soggy.

how do I make crunchy ones?

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If you have hard water, switch to bottled water.

Dang, yall have the set up. We are on the front range in Denver so lots of sun and dirt, what kind of varieties have worked for y'all?

Ball Pickle Crisp and a Grape leaf is what I use. I generally have ever only used a Grape leaf, but used pickling Crisp this year. Canned in July and opened the first jar a few weeks ago. I was surprised hou crisp they were

We have some great friends who were farmers that had a veggie garden that made the BEST pickles. I started making my own a few years ago and was disappointed. I asked them for their recipe and they were using aluminum if I'm not mistaken. I didn't feel comfortable doing that so I just quit jarring pickles.

trip98 said:

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anyone got tips on how to make CRUNCHY cucumbers?
I tried a few years ago and realized I needed new variety to help. I got Boston PIckling. Its been 2 years and I can get them good flavor...but they are soggy.

how do I make crunchy ones?

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Celery - Utah 52-70 (aka Tall Utah)
Carrot - Scarlet Nantes
Green bean - Jade or Jade II
Lettuce - Green towers (romaine)
Snap peas - Super sugar snap
Shelling peas - PLS 595
Tomato - Plum Regal (Roma), Red Pride, Defiant
Sweet corn - SV9010SA (requires license agreement for Bt trait)
Acorn squash - Tiptop PMR
Pie pumpkin - Cinnamon Girl PMR
Carving pumpkin - Champion and Prizewinner
Radish - Pearl (white) or whatever red the kids want
Broccoli - Gypsy
Broccolini - BC1611
Cucumber - H-19 Little leaf (aka Arkansas Little Leaf)
Bell peppers - usually whatever is local but wife trying specific varieties from seed for 2025.
Cauliflower - Twister
Jalapeños - Jalafuego
Okra - Clemson spineless
Cabbage - Typhoon, Danish ball head, or Ruby perfection (red)
Zucchini - Dunja or Dark green
Asparagus - Millennium
Raspberry - Nova
Blackberry - Prime Ark
Strawberry - Cabot
Potato - Kennebec

I think that covers most of our go to varieties. We order from several places in bulk if possible and to get treated seed too. I pick a lot of my varieties based on disease resistance. I do spray fungicides and insecticides as needed but like to use genetics to reduce my use.

We start a lot indoors so LED growth lights, light timmers, trays, pots, and tables (and space..haha) become important.

Seedway, Johnny's, Holmes, Jungs, Harris, and Shumway (in order of main source)

Fruit/Berries - Stark Bros, Nourse, Jungs

Damn, I envy those of you in areas that can grow raspberries, on the other hand I overwintered a dozen Hawaiian papayas.

I need to up my varmint deterrent. Something ate my cantaloupes

Alum powder

drred4 said:

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Alum powder

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Yep that's what it was

Can you tell me more about his please?

Don't know that I have seen them available this early but Producers Coop in Bryan has tomato transplants. Very organized by variety.

We've been making pickles as far back as I can remember and we've never used alum. There's usually two major factors for crispy pickles. We always put them up the day that they're picked. If you can't do that then keep them cold overnight and do them the next day.

Also processing time. When you lower the jars into the boiling water bath start the timer, don't wait for it to boil again. We cut our bath time down to 7 minutes as well

they sure are proud of those PrimeArk blackberries. May stick with Natchez.

anyone in zone 9a do potatoes or sweet potatoes? i'm near aggieland. never tried before. any advice?

Got 3 muscadine grape plants today! Yay! More muscadine jelly in a couple of years!

I've never grown them but am trying it this year (near Wickson). My buddy grows them successfully near Hearne every year.

Potatoes are easy. Plant them now and harvest in late April or May. Sweet potatoes grow well around BCS but can be a crapshoot regarding sweet potato weevil. First year you may get away with it but after that is more involved. You won't know you have them until you dig one up and find the tuber riddled with larvae. Morning glory is also a host.

What does everyone use for wind protection in the spring? I don't mind planting early and taking a chance on a freeze, but in Katy we get strong winds that will tear up seedlings.

And FYI, Beckendorff Farms has their tomato seedling sale this Saturday. He's an Ag and has varieties that you can't find anywhere else. I was hoping to get some and get them in the ground next week. I'm out of town for spring break so I need them in the pots on the auto-irrigation

Going to whack my cover crops one more time then kill them next week. Nematodes in my squash last fall makes me think twice about planting them. Tomatoes next week. Lettuce and spinach going ape #$&@ and so is the kale.

dahouse said:

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What does everyone use for wind protection in the spring?

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bend some woven/welded fence wire around the plants and some type of plastic sheeting around the wire. then when the plants mature, take off the sheeting and use the wire for support. sort of like this: