Already thinking about summer garden

[debmom2boyz]

Last year was our first successful year with a garden.

Where are some good places to get seeds (besides local box stores)?

Would starting seedlings indoors and then tranplanting be a bad idea?

We started just about everything from seed. We live in NC.

I hope to be able to share garden pictures this summer with all of you. I enjoyed *lurking* at all of yours.

[sarahannecloud9]

My fav is rareseeds.com-backer creek. LOVE their cs too!
Starting indoors is a great idea for many people. I start mine inside and then when strong enough put outside, then put in pots as they get bigger. It depends on the plant too though. Like carrots, direct sow is the best option.

[3lilbubs]

Originally Posted by debmom2boyz Last year was our first successful year with a garden. Where are some good places to get seeds (besides local box stores)? I really like seed saver's exchange. www.seedsavers.org Would starting seedlings indoors and then tranplanting be a bad idea? Nope, that's an excellent idea esp. if you have a short growing season. Some things will just do better if you plant them in the ground like pumpkins for instance but try one of each the first time out and see what does better! We started just about everything from seed. We live in NC. I hope to be able to share garden pictures this summer with all of you. I enjoyed *lurking* at all of yours.

The more the merrier! I love seeing all the beautiful gardens too, I sure miss mine. So much, that I brought a little inside this year. I have a tomato plant and a long planter of herbs in my dining room. LOL The tomato just started blooming yesterday!

[debmom2boyz]

I've tried carrots for 2 years in a row. We put them in a pot--I will try to direct sow this year.

I know that dh would love to do raised beds, but not sure if it is in the budget to make.

[okiemama]

Absolutely 100% order a "southern exposure seed company" catalogue you will NOT be disappointed they have wonderful variety heirlooms and hard to find varieties. The are super helpful and quick shipping plus they are part of the battle against Monsanto definitely give them a look I prefer the catalogue to the website

[sarahannecloud9]

I was sectretly plotting ways to bring down Monsanto yesterday! Shhh.

[okiemama]

Originally Posted by sarahannecloud9 I was sectretly plotting ways to bring down Monsanto yesterday! Shhh.

Lol they are pure evil! You have a noble cause

[Fryedaddy]

I also love rareseeds.com. Their story is great too! I live in nc also- Mayberry actually. I have been gardening for 7-8 yrs and last year was first year with raised beds. They were tough to keep moist. Mine dried out too fast but there are advantages such as easy to maintain. This year I am going to do my early crops like carrots, potatoes and onions in raised beds and summer garden which needs more water in the good ol nc clay!

[3lilbubs]

Originally Posted by Fryedaddy I also love rareseeds.com. Their story is great too! I live in nc also- Mayberry actually. I have been gardening for 7-8 yrs and last year was first year with raised beds. They were tough to keep moist. Mine dried out too fast but there are advantages such as easy to maintain. This year I am going to do my early crops like carrots, potatoes and onions in raised beds and summer garden which needs more water in the good ol nc clay!

They are tough to keep damp. I hope you don't mind a little advice. Some things I've learned with mine, using them in the desert you might want to think about trying : I stapled thick black plastic along the inner sides of mine, leaving the bottom open for drainage, laid fabric soaker hoses down on the top and mounded a thick layer (4-6") of straw on top for mulch and that made a HUGE difference in how often I was watering and how much seepage there was when I did.

[hac1224]

I never have luck with transplanting, so I sow everything except tomatoes directly in the ground. I'm starting to slowly think about planning ours this year. We know what grows well and what we will use now since our garden was very successful last year for the first time (new house).

We will have:
6+ rows of corn (Howling Mob from RH Shumways)
2 Rows green beans
1-2 Zucchini hills
1-2 Yellow Squash hills
2 Watermelon Hills
1 Row Tomatoes (approx 14 plants)
½ Row Cucumbers
1 Row Okra

There may be more, but I'm not sure. I would like to try potatoes if we can set up for them and maybe carrots and onions. For some reason our roots veggies didn't do well last year, and our spinach never came up except 1 lonely plant. We had more lettuce than we could use, so I don't know if we will try that again.

I'm thinking our garden was approx 40x30 last year, but we are expanding it this year to allow for more corn and green beans now that I taught myself to use my late grandmother's old pressure canner. I've been very fortunate and not had to buy any canning supplies except jar lids and rings because I'm the only family member who cared about my grandmother's huge canning stash. My biggest regret is not making the time to learn everything from her before she passed away last spring.