Author Topic: What will you do different next year?  (Read 5916 times)

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Offline barleychown

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What will you do different next year?
« on: Jul 16, 2007, 10:48:28 AM »
What are you planning on doing different next year? How about in the veggie garden? The herb beds? Your flower beds?

For starters, I need to add more late bloomers to my front gardens...the June bloomers have dropped off, and not much has filled their place.

In the veggie garden, I may need to plant few less pepper plants.  :laughmao: I hear they freeze okay, though...I guess I will see!
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Offline Patty S

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #1 on: Jul 16, 2007, 12:00:34 PM »
Gosh, this topic could parallel the wish list one! :grinnnn: "I wish" that I would pay attention to the height of different plants, cuz I have tall things growing in front of short things!

In my veggie garden,  I'd like to get some carrots & lettuce planted, cuz I haven't done that in a few years. (Been too busy since I discovered flowers, so the veggie plot doesn't get the attention it used to!) :Whis:

On the whole, I need to get an earlier start next year.  I'm hoping that by keeping Preen applied to the Iris row, I won't have to spend so much time there during the planting season.

Sarah, I just love the topics you come up with! You sure bring life to the gardening forum here.  Thanx! :kissies:

Offline Dianna

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #2 on: Jul 16, 2007, 01:04:50 PM »
I will make sure that I don't fall next year at the beginning of Spring! :laugh1: It sure messed up my gardening plans...

Like Patty, I will research more before I plant. I don't like the tall plants hiding my little ones, either. :laughmao: It is so frustrating to see plants outgrow what you planned for them!

I will get a faster "jump" on my weeds, too, and get some mulch in around everything to help with the weeding and the watering...

"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline barleychown

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #3 on: Jul 18, 2007, 12:11:37 PM »
I will NOT plant more than 2 zucchini plants.
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Offline Jim

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #4 on: Jul 18, 2007, 02:39:01 PM »
I will only plant one row of cucumbers and those will be pickling, not straight 8s. 

I will plant a variety of corn that is more resistant to the dreaded corn smut fungus. 

I will add the epsom salts around the tomatoes as Phil suggested.

That's about all I can think of right now but I'm sure there will be more things we will do different in the veggie garden.  I got lots of ideas from Phil.  :Yahoo:
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Pharmerphil

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #5 on: Jul 18, 2007, 05:42:42 PM »
Thanx Jim, just hide me from Dianna....
Well I'm paying for last year at this calendar date.
DON'T..plant tomatillo's in your main garden....even if you thought you cleaned everyone of em' up at seasons end....they should have a "weed" warning on da package.

Offline Dianna

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #6 on: Jul 18, 2007, 05:50:42 PM »
by pharmerphil:
Quote
Thanx Jim, just hide me from Dianna....

You can run, but you can't hide, Phil!

I think that next year in the garden we will be investing in some electric fencing. Jim gets so upset with the deer chowing down on his peas!  :tickedoff:
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline Patty S

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #7 on: Jul 19, 2007, 02:54:49 AM »
DON'T..plant tomatillo's in your main garden....even if you thought you cleaned everyone of em' up at seasons end....they should have a "weed" warning on da package.

Man oh man, do I know that one! :Wacko: I bought a Tomatillo plant at a yard sale last year & we planted it in our annual flower bed. Not because we eat them (I wouldn't know what to do with them , even if I liked to cook), but because we like the little lanterns they make! I thought it was cool when the lanterns later became cute little mesh-looking bags with seeds in them, that look a lot like mustard seeds. I gathered some of them up for my seed collection, & never gave it another thought. :oops: 

This year, after the forest of California Poppies were done with their usual display in that bed, we cleaned it all out & put our bedding plants in there, then for the next couple weeks we picked out the purslane that comes up in droves after the ground has been disturbed around here... & I noticed several "something elses" that looked kinda familiar but didn't appear to me, to be weeds... so I left them alone so I could ID them as they got bigger.

Then, while cruising around last years garden pics in my PhotoBucket, I ran across the Tomatillo & a bell went off in my head!
YIKES! :cringe: That's what those things are, that I thought weren't weeds!   

I didn't have the heart to murder all those perfectly good plants, so I thought to myself, "Well, that Tomatillo got mighty big last year, but I'll just keep one". Then I got some 3" pots out of the shed & started potting them up... & kept going back for more pots! :rolleyes1: I sent about 10 of them home with Peggy & took the rest (about 2 dozen) to the church with a "Free Tomatillo" sign on the box, & they went like hotcakes! (I decided to keep 2 of them; one at each end of the bed, but now I'm thinking I only "need" one!) 

     
Here is one of them, only 24 days after I first noticed that they'd broken ground! I know from the one last year that it aint gunna quit, so I drug out one of my Quince trellises & tied it down! I found about a dozen more that have come up, & those will be taking a trip to church next Sunday! (You can see a couple of them near the base of the big one.)   

Phil is right; there should be a weed warning.  (I'm thinking about putting a warning note on the box this time... but probably won't, cuz I don't want to bring any back home!)  :Whis:

I've gone & made this short story long, but I'll just say that I'm not going to wait until next year to do something different... When the lanterns start to lose their color, I'm not waiting for them to turn into cute little mesh bags! Last years seeds might still be coming up next year, so I may never have to plant another Tomatillo ever again! :laughmao:
« Last Edit: Jul 19, 2007, 03:06:03 AM by Patty S »

Offline duh

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #8 on: Jul 23, 2007, 07:19:15 AM »
If I could I would...

Dig all the grass out of the slope.  Terrace it and plant the whole thing.  I'd have avocado trees on the far west side. 3 sets of 3 for the top row and inbetween them hollyhocks, sunflowers, irises and glads.
The next row would be a mass of celosia both the feather kind and the brain kind in every possible color. And maybe interspirsed with those would be some of the miniature bushy sunflowers and the blackberry lillies and mums.
I'm not sure what all I would have in the 3rd row.  Those would be 8 to twelve inch plants.  Miniature snapdragons, tulips, daffodils and freesia would probably be in there but I can't really think of what else.
For the short row I'd have minature roses, portulaca, ice plant, chive clumps, crocus, forget-me-nots.

Now for the shade garden.  I'd have enough of my Sport Dwarf Evergreen bushes to make a nice hedge for the area.  Then at the four corners of the area I'd have the hostas.  At the center of the area I would probably try for a fountain that sprays a fine mist.  And then I would fill the area around the fountain with the peonies and then out from there the dwarf peonies, then the columbine, then the peacock orchids then the Lillies of the Valley, and then the mints. 

And I know that none of that is going to happen.  I'm tired just thinking about it lol.

Oh and while I had all the plants out of the ground of course I would compost the entire area heavily. 

And I don't think I would do a veggie garden at all next year.  I was just too disappointed this year.


Offline barleychown

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #9 on: Jul 23, 2007, 01:02:14 PM »
Aw, Duh! You can do it...just break it into little bitty steps! :ThumbUp:

Why were you dissappointed with your veggie garden? :dunno:
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Offline patches

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #10 on: Jul 25, 2007, 01:40:36 AM »
I WILL get my tomato plants in earlier next year.  :SmileyFit: I've been waiting forever for the taste of a fresh tomato out of my garden.  :Crybaby2: It's getting close, but still no brass ring.   ::)
« Last Edit: Jul 25, 2007, 01:42:11 AM by patches »
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Offline duh

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #11 on: Jul 26, 2007, 08:25:04 AM »
I have a couple of reasons for not being pleased with my veggie garden.  First of all was the leaf spot on the peppers, then the sweet williams are sour, then most of the walking onions along with the tomatoes have died.  And none of them produced seeds which really hurt my feelings because they are good tasting.  The white radishes that I was soooooo glad I found didn't have the taste I remembered from childhood.  They just taste like a regular radish.  So that was disappointing too.  And of course my lettuce and spinach didn't grow to maturity.  So I have to say the veggie garden was not a success this year.

Offline barleychown

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #12 on: Jul 30, 2007, 11:19:24 AM »
I will mark my pumpkins and squash better next year! I have so many that I have no clue which is which.
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Offline patches

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #13 on: Aug 01, 2007, 05:18:52 PM »
Next year, I will make a diagram of all my garden beds so I can identify the plants when they start coming in.  :idea: The squirrels dig up all my I.D. stakes :Vent: so sometimes I don't know or remember what's planted where!!!  :unsure:
« Last Edit: Aug 01, 2007, 05:21:17 PM by patches »
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Offline duh

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #14 on: Aug 03, 2007, 08:50:48 AM »
a diagram sounds like a really good idea.

I think next year I might start the banana peppers indoors about January to give them a good head start. 

And I'll start the lettuce and spinach then too in individual cups.

I think I'll start some shallots inside to, also in individual cups.

And I might try the sweet potato squash again starting it inside in a large container in say December.

And I'm going to pull out the bad soil where the peppers are this year all the way down to about 8 inches and replace it with fresh soil.

Is that deep enough you think?  Because I need the space for the veggies.

Then I'm going to get in there and get rid of another patch of poison ivy.  So it doesn't creep into the veggies.  fortunately it doesn't grow fast where it is located.

Other than that I plan to dig up the plants in the shade garden and dig out the rooty soil that's there and replace it with compost and then replant the plants.  That way the hosta should finally take off the way they do for everyone else.

That's quite a list.  I had no idea all those ideas were perkolating in my beady little brain lol.


Offline barleychown

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #15 on: Aug 03, 2007, 09:15:35 AM »
Wow Duh! You have quite the list going there. Why are you replacing the pepper's soil? Is there a disease? Do you plan on growing peppers there again?

Starting lettuce and such in cups sure makes it easier to plant out onto the gardens if you are growing for heads of lettuce.

Did you know peppers are actually a perennial? Do you have a good healthy banana pepper this year? If you do, you can dig it up at the end of the season, pot it up and take it inside to winter over. I plan on doing that this year with several of my best plants.
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Offline duh

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #16 on: Aug 03, 2007, 09:52:44 AM »
I had a disease earlier in the year on the peppers.  It seems to have gone away although from what I read it's not suppose to do that even when you spray the plants. 

That's interesting that peppers are perennials.  I may have to see what I can arrange.  It would be tempting to keep one.  Do you know how big they get?  I have limited space in my apartment and I like to bring in my herbs. 

I won't put the peppers back in that spot.  I think I'm going to use that spot for the lettuce and spinach and probably the hostas. 

Your right it is a pretty big list.  And then you add the flower bed list of things to do and it gets pretty daunting.  But I love it all the same.  That's why I'm crazy enough to go back out there and try again after some of the things that have happen out there. 


Offline barleychown

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #17 on: Aug 03, 2007, 10:23:14 AM »
Peppers are suppose to stay a rather compact shrub, so they should be okay indoors...I hear they just sort of sit there for the winter and don't really grow or produce, unless they are given a TON of light, but once they go back outdoors in the spring you will have a huge head start on the season. :ThumbUp:

Big lists are the norm for gardeners...which is why I try not to make a list! It scares me to see it all listed out, and makes it feel more like a chore and less like a hobby. I just sort of bumble my way through. :SlapSelf:

If I were you I wouldn't "replace" the pepper dirt, since you don't plan on putting peppers there again next year. I would dump a bunch of compost on top the soil, let the good microbes and bacteria help you heal the soil. Maybe even plan a cover crop for the winter...something in the legume family, to add some free nitrogen to your soil.
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Offline duh

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #18 on: Aug 04, 2007, 09:35:33 AM »
I have to take dirt out to put new dirt in because it is a raised bed type thing.  But I am intrigued by your suggestion of a winter crop. 

Could you tell me what legume might work in that situation.  I'm afraid I don't know anything about winter crops.  But it sounds like a good idea to me.

I love the idea that the peppers don't grow much.  I may be able to bring in a couple.  That would be fantastic. 

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #19 on: Aug 30, 2007, 01:08:46 PM »
Next year I will plant more lilies, make a larger veggie garden and make another flower garden on the west side of my house.

I will also invest in a large tarp so I don't lose another crop to a hail storm. I'll also divide up perennials and make a few flower beds larger.

I could go on forever....

Offline Penny

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #20 on: Aug 31, 2007, 09:01:28 AM »
 :ThumbUp: Sounds like a good start though Tam......i would like to make a new flower bed down the side of our house where the gas meter is to hide it, and try to find some new kids of ornamental grass to ty.

Offline duh

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #21 on: Sep 01, 2007, 07:11:13 AM »
Well I have to rethink everything lol.  Nothing like a new garden space to change your plans.

First I'll dig up the foundation shade bed and put the ornamental grass and the hostas in there, with about 50% compost.  They should just love that.  Leaving space for other shade loving plants like my Jacob Ladder seeds, columbine, lily of the valley, mints, peacock orchids, dwarf evergreens and others.

Second on my list is the fence bed.  That's in a sunny area so the herbs and mums will go there for this winter but I'll be planning to move those and go heavily into vines and bushes next year.  I have a seed for a burgandy cold hardy hibiscus that I think will be a nice anchor plant in that area.  I'm not sure if I should take some of the ground covers with me or not.  I am taking thyme and the three kinds of mint so I may not need to take the anenome or the succullent type with the yellow flowers.  But I have time to make those decisions since they both stay above ground all year so they are easy to find.  Of course finding the tulips is going to be down right difficult but I'll give it my best shot.

So many plans.  I'll be busy all next year lol.  Of course I have very little light to start plants at the new place so I'm going to have to get some more shop lights and make my shelf into an indoor plant incubator lol.  But I don't mind. 

Offline patches

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #22 on: Sep 03, 2007, 07:29:21 PM »
Well, Duh, it certainly sounds like you have some ambitiious plans and goals and they all seem very attainable.  Geesh, you're going to have so much fun getting your new garden apartment in shape.   ;)

After seeing what the exteme temperatures and drought did to my gardens and flowers this year, I think I will mulch everything a little heavier next year.  :idea: It might not make a huge difference, but I think it would help.   :Whis: 
« Last Edit: Sep 03, 2007, 07:33:22 PM by patches »
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Offline duh

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #23 on: Sep 04, 2007, 07:43:16 AM »
I definitely think the beds I mulched did better than those I didn't.  The difference was significant. 

I was talking to my landlord and he said I could have a rain barrel.  I'm also thinking about a wood frame and heavy clear plastic as a temporary greenhouse using the existing building as two sides and then a moveable frame for the other two.  It wouldn't be pretty or fancy but since I'm at the back maybe it would be ok. 

I just can't afford to buy plants and I want to be able to early start the veggies.   

Offline bestofour

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Re: What will you do different next year?
« Reply #24 on: Sep 05, 2007, 06:45:00 PM »
I'm going to plant in an area that's easier to water. (we'll probably have a lot of rain) and I'm going to get a lot of hummingbird feeders (have 2) and put them on shepherds hooks instead of in trees where I can't reach them.

 

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