A few gardening questions

[Anvilguy]

We just purchased our first home and plan to grow our own food next spring.
I have a few questions to start with.

I prefer heirloom vegetables but if were growing long term for two what are the pros and cons between heirloom and modern vegetables?

Were aiming for, heavy yields, frost and disease resistance, easy to grow, suitable for storage and can be saved to re grow the following season. But im also looking for some interesting varieties as well as the standard staples.

What are some of your favourites...

Potatos
Carrots
Squash
Garlic
Corn
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Bell peppers
Hot peppers
Zucchini
Beans/peas
Rhubarb
Onions
Radishes
Broccoli
Cauliflower

Other suggestions?

I know all of these grow in my area... To avoid having to make many garden beds with different soils, nutrients and such... Which of these plants can I plant together?

I also want to have plants maturing throughout the season... So im searching for recommendations on early, mid, and late maturing varieties.

Thanks!

 

[Silentrunning]

We just purchased our first home and plan to grow our own food next spring.
I have a few questions to start with.

I prefer heirloom vegetables but if were growing long term for two what are the pros and cons between heirloom and modern vegetables?

Were aiming for, heavy yields, frost and disease resistance, easy to grow, suitable for storage and can be saved to re grow the following season. But im also looking for some interesting varieties as well as the standard staples.

What are some of your favourites...

Potatos
Carrots
Squash
Garlic
Corn
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Bell peppers
Hot peppers
Zucchini
Beans/peas
Rhubarb
Onions
Radishes
Broccoli
Cauliflower

Other suggestions?

I know all of these grow in my area... To avoid having to make many garden beds with different soils, nutrients and such... Which of these plants can I plant together?

I also want to have plants maturing throughout the season... So im searching for recommendations on early, mid, and late maturing varieties.

Thanks!

Welcome Anvilguy, here is my opinion:
Potatoes- no. They are too cheap in the store and fresh ones aren’t that much better.
Carrots- see potatoes.
Squash- Acorn, buttercup and spaghetti squash are great choices.
Garlic- grow over the winter.
Corn- a must. Go with one of the newer super sweets.
Tomatoes- heirlooms are the best but almost zero pest resistance.
Cucumber- grow on trellis to save space.
Bell peppers- California wonder is an age old favorite.
Hot peppers- Jalapeño is my favorite
Zucchini- is costly in store so well worth growing.
Beans/peas- these are vegetables that are always way better fresh.
Rhubarb- makes good compost
Onions- I prefer to grow scallions.
Radishes- Try Daikon. You will be glad you did.
Broccoli & Cauliflower- a lot of work but well worth it.

Others - how about turnips? They will grow under the snow.

 

[marlingardener]

Welcome to the forum! That is quite a list of vegetables and of questions. I'll do my best--but although we are in Central Texas now, I gardened in upstate New York for 25 years, and am drawing on that experience.
Carrots- depending on your soil density, Danvers Half Long or Nantes did well for us.
Squash-any zucchini, or straight neck yellow did well.
Garlic-you need to get a soft-neck variety, I believe. We plant hard-neck here in Texas, but for colder climates the soft-neck do better.
Tomatoes-we planted Rutgers and Jet Star. There are probably better, newer varieties now.
Cucumber-Straight Eight. Reliable, produced well, and could be used both as table and pickling.
Bell pepper-Gypsy. The Cal Wonder had too long a growing season for us, but Gypsy produced lots of peppers and were quite delicious.
Broccoli-PacMan was reliable. Now we plant Lieutenant here in Texas--but only in the fall. Our transplants went in last week. I would not recommend this planting schedule for Canada!
Beans-bush beans like Tendergreen or Tendercrop. Pole beans I cannot recommend.
The other vegetables I can't comment on.
About having plants maturing throughout the season--look into succession cropping. You can plant leaf lettuces early in spring, and again about three weeks later, and extend your harvest. You can do the same with carrots,
A bit of unasked for advice. This is your first home, and likely your first garden. Start small, learn about what works for you and what doesn't, and after a couple of years you will be practically self-sufficient in vegetables. Get a canner, and possibly a pressure canner, learn how to use them, and search yard sales for canning jars (Kerr, Ball, etc but not mayonnaise jars!). Dirt is dirt. Start a compost pile, add the compost to your garden beds, and you'll have better soil that will support crops. You'll also save a bundle of money not buying supplements, chemical fertilizers and "bloom set".
Don't waste valuable garden space on cheap vegetables like potatoes and onions, radishes which are very seasonal and don't keep well, Use your valuable garden space for vegetables your family likes; vegetables that either can be canned or kept for the winter; and vegetables that can be grown well in your climate.
About heirloom vegetables--they are nice, tasty, and poor producers. One Brandywine plant will give you perhaps a dozen tomatoes over the season, while a hybrid will give you dozens. There is a reason that hybrids were developed. In general, I've found that heirloom cherry tomatoes do well, while larger tomatoes don't.
I'm sure other gardeners will chime in with their experiences.
Good luck with your garden!

 

[Anvilguy]

Welcome Anvilguy, here is my opinion:
Potatoes- no. They are too cheap in the store and fresh ones aren’t that much better.
Carrots- see potatoes.
Squash- Acorn, buttercup and spaghetti squash are great choices.
Garlic- grow over the winter.
Corn- a must. Go with one of the newer super sweets.
Tomatoes- heirlooms are the best but almost zero pest resistance.
Cucumber- grow on trellis to save space.
Bell peppers- California wonder is an age old favorite.
Hot peppers- Jalapeño is my favorite
Zucchini- is costly in store so well worth growing.
Beans/peas- these are vegetables that are always way better fresh.
Rhubarb- makes good compost
Onions- I prefer to grow scallions.
Radishes- Try Daikon. You will be glad you did.
Broccoli & Cauliflower- a lot of work but well worth it.

Others - how about turnips? They will grow under the snow.

I like those squash ideas!
Also the daikon radish idea!
The potato thing makes sense, im living on Prince Edward Island and its the land of potatos here lol.
Rhubard is good compost? Sounds like youre not a rhubarb fan?

 

[Anvilguy]

Welcome to the forum! That is quite a list of vegetables and of questions. I'll do my best--but although we are in Central Texas now, I gardened in upstate New York for 25 years, and am drawing on that experience.
Carrots- depending on your soil density, Danvers Half Long or Nantes did well for us.
Squash-any zucchini, or straight neck yellow did well.
Garlic-you need to get a soft-neck variety, I believe. We plant hard-neck here in Texas, but for colder climates the soft-neck do better.
Tomatoes-we planted Rutgers and Jet Star. There are probably better, newer varieties now.
Cucumber-Straight Eight. Reliable, produced well, and could be used both as table and pickling.
Bell pepper-Gypsy. The Cal Wonder had too long a growing season for us, but Gypsy produced lots of peppers and were quite delicious.
Broccoli-PacMan was reliable. Now we plant Lieutenant here in Texas--but only in the fall. Our transplants went in last week. I would not recommend this planting schedule for Canada!
Beans-bush beans like Tendergreen or Tendercrop. Pole beans I cannot recommend.
The other vegetables I can't comment on.
About having plants maturing throughout the season--look into succession cropping. You can plant leaf lettuces early in spring, and again about three weeks later, and extend your harvest. You can do the same with carrots,
A bit of unasked for advice. This is your first home, and likely your first garden. Start small, learn about what works for you and what doesn't, and after a couple of years you will be practically self-sufficient in vegetables. Get a canner, and possibly a pressure canner, learn how to use them, and search yard sales for canning jars (Kerr, Ball, etc but not mayonnaise jars!). Dirt is dirt. Start a compost pile, add the compost to your garden beds, and you'll have better soil that will support crops. You'll also save a bundle of money not buying supplements, chemical fertilizers and "bloom set".
Don't waste valuable garden space on cheap vegetables like potatoes and onions, radishes which are very seasonal and don't keep well, Use your valuable garden space for vegetables your family likes; vegetables that either can be canned or kept for the winter; and vegetables that can be grown well in your climate.
About heirloom vegetables--they are nice, tasty, and poor producers. One Brandywine plant will give you perhaps a dozen tomatoes over the season, while a hybrid will give you dozens. There is a reason that hybrids were developed. In general, I've found that heirloom cherry tomatoes do well, while larger tomatoes don't.
I'm sure other gardeners will chime in with their experiences.
Good luck with your garden!

Lots of useful info here thanks!
I do plan to start canning and drying to preserve.
Im on Prince Edward Island, im told just about everything grows here.
Its middle of October and still 10c with warm sun and plants growing.

I was considering succession growing... Also im considering trying to start as many indoors as possible, to get a jump on the season.

Were aiming to be self sufficient for our produce, thats the goal anyway.

 

[CanadianLori]

Welcome to the forum!

Being in PEI, your first move should be ordering a Vesey's seed catalogue. Don't know which end of the island you're situated but this seed company down near Somerset are an excellent supplier and their catalogues are full of great reference material and advice.

Get a pad of grid paper and make a "floor plan" of your growing area. Copy it and use it to make plans and believe you me, you will change your mind about locations lots of times over the winter and that is why the copies will come in handy .. Nicky Jabbur's book is also a really great bible of PEI year round growing. She covers succession growing, every type of veggie you can grow etc. She's possibly a neighbour of yours.too

And be prepared to change the plan every year. I do!

I am finally having success growing brussels sprouts and this time from Veseys seed.

I used to can tomatoes but the cost of hydro to run the canner for an hour put the cost up twice as high as a can of aylmers.

I make lots of jellies and jams and sauces and whatever the mood strikes. You'll have fun too

 

[Durgan]

No matter what you plan you will have excess without prior deciding how to process for future use and long term storage. With a home garden most produce is overabundant and most gets discarded.

I root cellar and pressure can successfully.

 

[marlingardener]

Durgan, I beg to differ on garden produce being discarded if overabundant. We give extras to neighbors who are too elderly to garden much; we donate to a local food bank; and if any cuke, tomato, bean, etc. is damaged, it goes to the hens.
We can and freeze (root cellar isn't viable in Texas!) and enjoy the results from our garden for several months. After a year or two a new gardener learns what works, what can be processed, and what just isn't going to be worth the space and time it takes to grow it.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Lots of useful info here thanks!
I do plan to start canning and drying to preserve.
Im on Prince Edward Island, im told just about everything grows here.
Its middle of October and still 10c with warm sun and plants growing.

I was considering succession growing... Also im considering trying to start as many indoors as possible, to get a jump on the season.

Were aiming to be self sufficient for our produce, thats the goal anyway.

I learned that succession growing does not occur with succession killing of pathogens be-fore you replant. Hold your veggies close, but your pathogens closer.