anyone planting something different in the garden?

[Modat22]

Being nosey, I'm going to try a few heirlooms plants and seed this year in a different garden spot with the hopes of recovering some of my own seed for next year.

Brandywine black and standard amish brandywine tomatoes
Aztec black sweet corn and I believe crimson king sweet corn
some wierd pepper plant
Thinking about trying an asparagus field.

all the normal hybrid plants are going in my regular garden spot.

Anyone else trying something new?

[Adam_MA]

I did an all heirloom garden 2 years ago. It was great, and the plants were fantastic. Last year, I was thinking of selling my house so I didn't start my seeds in time, and ended up buying nursery plants. Funny though, I let some of my tomato plants drop tomatoes the year before and let them rot, and I ended up with wild tomato plants from the heirloom the year before all over the place. I did the same last year with those wild plants, I am hoping to see if they come back in random places again this year.

I've got all my tomato and pepper plants started now, and this year I am going to do onions and beats for the first time this year. It should be interesting to see how they turn out

[ADAMINMO]

I am trying something new this year ... Gonna use one of those Topsy Turvy tomatoe trees to grow some maters. Anyone used one? Helpful hints before I get started?
Thanks

[SPIKER]

I saw those advertised (topsy-turvy) things looks interesting but not sure if you could keep the robins and sparrows out of them around here :D

I bought a bunch of mushrooms this year going to try them, was going to get some of the garden kits and add them in but costs was already up, got a bunch of the SHITIKE type shrooms as I have a bunch of sugar maple & red oak drop this winter to try out. ;)   They had some types you inter plant with the garden veggies that are supposed to make great food and also make the veggies grow better.

I have some seed in the grow cups already too, last few years we bought several different varieties of tomatoes in 4" pots and  stuck them in deep and got good crops.   this year we bought seeds & got a bunch of small starter doo-hickies from Menards for a 1.99 each that holds like 32 of the 1x1.5 seed starters plastic thingies.


this year we put lettuce & spinach in and already UP (might get frosted out with this weather!?)  got zucchini and cucumbers started with some tomatoes started too.
Mark

[crtreedude]

I have passion fruit growing in the garden now, 2 out of three varieties. Very tasty in my opinion. A bit hard to describe the flavor.

[thedeeredude]

My dad is putting in some seeds we get from one of our local museums.  They have one of the best heirloom seed programs in the country.  Deacon dan beets so far.  Last year he put in some black brandywine tomatoes and I think I got him some mammoth german tomato seeds too.   http://www.landisvalleymuseum.org/seeds.php

[Dana]

My father-in-law had a topsey turvey for tomatoes last year. He wasn't very impressed with the results and is not using it this year.

[old joe]

Were putting in root crops this year. Parsnips turnips and potato.  Trying to get from harvest to spring.

[DanG]

Modat, in the first garden I made on this place I planted some Black Aztec corn.  That was the wierdest stuff I ever saw!  The stalks were crooked and grew in every direction except for straight up.  It produced pretty well with normal looking ears in the normal places, but also produced little deformed ears on the tips of the normal ears, on the tassels, and even from the roots!  It was a source of laughter for a while around here!  We began to think we might have bought a toxic waste dump or something! :D :D :D

It ate pretty good though.

[Modat22]

Modat, in the first garden I made on this place I planted some Black Aztec corn.  That was the wierdest stuff I ever saw!  The stalks were crooked and grew in every direction except for straight up.  It produced pretty well with normal looking ears in the normal places, but also produced little deformed ears on the tips of the normal ears, on the tassels, and even from the roots!  It was a source of laughter for a while around here!  We began to think we might have bought a toxic waste dump or something! :D :D :D

It ate pretty good though.

I wonder if its been in-fertilized too much or something. If mine does that I'll post some photo's

[Jeff]

Well, I'm planting something different for me. Sugar snap peas and taters are going into a new area I worked up a couple days ago later today. I'm not sure what I'll plant in the raised gardens yet, as its still about a month from worrying about that.

I have a problem I have to take care of first. I am on my way in a few minutes to get a live trap from my brudder in law to catch this waskally wascal that has chewed on every growing thing in a one acre radius. Its only the second Rabbit we had here in 25 years and hes gotta go.

He's out here right now. :-\  I dont want to kill him, I want to take him over and drop him on the other side of town where the gardens are bigger. ;D

[Tom]

Ah-h-h-h!   Hosenfeffer.  ;D

[Modat22]

Just the second wabbit in 25 years? Are they rare up there (not related to cooked)

[beenthere]

Yep...eat it 
or...
Only dump it on to someone else who wants it (i.e. get their permission  )

[Jeff]

Yep...eat it 
or...
Only dump it on to someone else who wants it (i.e. get their permission  )

I'm not eating no rabbit that just came through this winter. Hes been eating everything but the tires off the lawnmower to stay alive.  I'm dumping him on someone that won't appreciate him either. Kinda like an eco-hand grenade.

We have lots of rabbits in the county, just have not had many in the neighborhood due to cats and dogs. most of the cats are all gone and the dogs are getting to old to care.

[Tom]

Take him....her?.... to the UP for new DNA .  You have rabbits at Pete's cabin. Who knows, you might create a strain that would replace all of the Chemical herbicide bans that are a-fixin' to happen in Canada.  lIt's just across the lake a bit, right?  Heck, you might make a million.   Or, you might have them coming after you... hadn't thought of that.  :D :D

Just think if the glint in the little guys eye when he meets the UP bunny.  ;D

[Sprucegum]

If that's the second rabbit you will soon have a third & fourth & fifth ........

I walk through a small park on my way to work every morning. There were 6 rabbits there, big arrogant jack rabbits. Then one morning I saw 5 little piles of fur and one very nervous rabbit. They must have had a visit from Wily Coyote  ;D

[Jeff]

Well, my brother in law didnt come through with the trap today. It was locked in his neighbors garage from when he borrowed it. I didnt feel like waiting around until tonight to get it.  Taking it to the U.P. would probably be the same as killing it. No cottontails up there, at least in our vicinity. Just hares.

[Scuba_Dave]

I finally finished my greenhouse
I didn't like the original design, so it sat for 3 years
I redid it last year, finished 2 weeks ago - I can stand up inside
It was almost 70 out the other day & the greenhouse went up to 105 
So I am building a solar heater to go inside & help heat the house

I have already transplanted seedlings from my sunroom to the greenhouse
I am moving more tomorrow & planting a few in the garden - with mini-greenhouses (gallon jugs) over them

I'm planting a lot more this year
5 different tomatoes - one is yellow (2nd year)
2 different cukes
2 different summer squash
Zucchini
2 diff carrots
2 diff lettuce
3 diff pumpkins (#45 lb'r last year)
2 diff peppers

Maybe more too

Windows were all free, spent less then $30 on PT wood
There is a 55g rain barrel in the corner

[maple flats]

Back in the early eighties my wife and I bought b50 dwarf fruit trees and 650 dwarfing rootr stock. We grafted and planted the 700 trees in nice rows for a retirement orchard. We watched the progress of the trees all year. Most grafts took and the in the winter we drove to the orchard every 2 weeks to keep a watch on them. Everything was good on the first weekend in march the following year but 2 weeks later the rabbits had girdled the bark on ALL 700 trees. That summer most died. The next winter during the season I walked up past the orchard where I had 3 brush piles, with shotgun in hand. Early on I got 4 or 5 rabbits a day. After a few days it dropped to 2 or 3, and finally to 1 or 2. These rabbits were not wasted because my brother was out of work and his wife and 3 kids (at the time) learned many good recipes for rabbit. I donated most to him, I at some and mom and Dad had some ( and an aunt and uncle next door with 12 kids,ate the rest. The next year I very seldom saw any rabbits. It took many years to get many back and then a family of red fox and another of grey fox kept their numbers in check. After this I changed to blueberries because rabbits do not chew any hardened blueberry cane's bark. Jeff, don't be so easy on what you view as a helpless rabbit. Just look at Austrailia's rabbit problems in the past.

[Jeff]

I dont view them as helpless at all. I just dont want to kill it this time of year.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Taking it to the U.P. would probably be the same as killing it. No cottontails up there, at least in our vicinity. Just hares.

We have cottontails all the way over here on the west end of the UP... But we don't need anymore. Keeping them out of the potato fields is more than enough work as it is. 

[Left Coast Chris]

Jeff, if the trap fails you will have to get more serious and Elmer Fud him.  Do you need a red plad hat with ear flaps?

One caution on the soft heartedness with the wabbits:   My wife was mowing the field and ran over the mom rabbit and left a newer baby.   She brought it in and the kids raised it until it was teenage size.  All was well until the wild came out in him when being startled one day.  He ran around the house so hard hitting things he broke a leg and began squeeling loudly in the house.  What a sceene.  Of course it sounds like a human baby pinned under a car.    My wife was emotionally scarred for weeks.   Hope your story turns out better   ;D

[Handy Andy]

  I planted peas and spinach first of March.  Got some of those brandywine tomatoes growing in the dining room. Better water them this morning. Our tomatoes didn't taste like much last year, so looked for some that taste better.  Everybody said brandywine.  So found 2 packs of seed at Walmart.  Hoping to save seed this year.  Are most of the pepper plants you buy at the greenhouses hybrid?  Would like to save seed but if they are hybrid, wouldn't work.  We like the red and yellow bell peppers best.  Funny, they don't seem to come up volunteer in the garden.  Just the maters.

[thecfarm]

Brandywine will do you good,but they are not a pretty tomato.When we was selling plants we went through the same thing.But I would tell people that you would not get a tomato like what you buy in the store,but it will taste better.Most would go to another kind after saying that.  : On your peppers there should be a seed saving group in your area.That's what you need to find out.Have a Cooperative Extension in your area?