Planning for next year

[Kirsten]

Please tell me that I'm not the only person that has already started thinking ahead to next summer :p

Right now I'm thinking 10 plants of japanese eggplant (I bought some seeds at an Asian market and I can't wait to try them out!) since my regular black beauty eggplants were kind of a bust... they only got to fist-size and quit growing :(

probably 12 tomato plants, 10 of oregon spring (which are regular big sized tomatoes) and 2 yellow pears. The yellow pears aren't as sweet but I love them for their shape and color and they're quite yummy when sliced and sprinkled with a little sugar. Plus I noticed that despite how much everyone in the fam complained about them, if I left them out in a bowl they'd be gone in a few hours ;) and on top of that, it was fun giving them to people as gifts and seeing their responses.

I don't think I'll be doing cherry tomatoes this year. I planted black cherry last year and while they were delicious, they had a bad tendency to split and attract ants. I also grew Tip Top Tomato, a red cherry, but never saw hide nor hair of it after it went into the garden - I think the vicious yellow pear plants ate them.

Cucumbers are definitely a go wherever we have space this year, and definitely the swiss chard. I'm playing with the thought of getting some squash too, but I don't know where on earth we'd plant it. Beans and strawberries are definitely out this year, I think every other animal in the backyard got fat off of those two except for me.

:) So those are my plans for now, which I'm sure will change as the winter progresses... how about everyone else??

[Riz]

hiya K..

i will probably grow cukes for sure, I grew pumpkins the season before last and got a few football sized ones, so i may try them again next season, i will grow basil,mint,dill, parsley also, i may even try okra too even though i know they need plenty of heat, i was also thinking of a dwarf peach tree, courgettes and aubergines i have seeds for so ill give them a go too.. still thinking about stuff to grow so i will add to my list as the weeks go by..

If i get hold of a cheap greenhouse i will be well happy maybe stick my tomatoes plants inside as well as the cukes and other veggies.. cant wait for spring though the garden is untidy and i have plenty of stuff i want to burn but it has been raining for a while now, so everything is soaked in the garden, I really need to mow the lawn too and give the garden panels a fresh coat of paint, and do lots of weeding which am not so keen on,

[Foz]

sounds good guys...

not sure im going to do much this year...probably just tomatoes and want to try peppers

[Kirsten]

I hate weeding. I wish my rabbit would just eat the weeds, but no, she likes to break off each branch of swiss chard and then not eat it :cool:

Keep us updated on your greenhouse, Riz! I'll post a picture of the extremely cheap greenhouse I plan to build for my seedlings this January whenever I get around to actually making it. :D

[Riz]

^ is there any ends to your talents :spruce_up:

[Kirsten]

Oh yes, it certainly ends when it comes to calculus. Or physics. ;)

[MuslimahBarb]

Salaam

We are definitely already planning next year'sgarden. My husband does the planning but I do get a bit of input.

Salaam
Barb

[Riz]

sallam barb,

nice to see you over here again :) did you do well last season !!!? if i can remember you grew some corn too !?

[Tania]

I will try again the vegetables from this summer :) and i hope the date palms will survive over winter
In spring i will plant cherry and plum tries.

[edibles]

chillis attempt 2 will def happen next year and every year till i get some spicey fruits

[MustafaMc]

sallam barb,

nice to see you over here again :) did you do well last season !!!? if i can remember you grew some corn too !?Yes, we grew some sweet corn last year, but she had an accident and broke her leg. As a result I was not able to work the garden as it needed and the corn got too old. I have been selecting and developing a new strain from the hybrid, Kandy Korn. Insha'Allah, we will plant the 3rd generation next year.

[Riz]

^ i am sorry to her that about muslimbarb

did you get good crops last season with other things you grew !!? and are you a organic Gardner, or do you use fertilizers etc when and if you need to do so !?

[MustafaMc]

She is doing better now and insha'Allah she will be able to help in the garden next year. We had a pretty good crop and were able to put up some snap beans, lima beans, cowpeas, tomatoes and quash.

I use fertilizers, but I use pesticides very sparingly. I plan to start using compost to condition the soil as nearby there is a cotton gin with a huge pile of gin trash (leaf material cleaned from the lint) that is mostly broken down. A couple of years ago I used this composted gin trash as a mulch around my tomatoes and it killed most of them. I guess it was not quite ready to be used.

[Riz]

I used this composted gin trash as a mulch around my tomatoes and it killed most of them. I guess it was not quite ready to be used.

so how do the tomatoes grow for you in your climate !? and what do you do with them all, do you make tomato sauce and bottle them and use them whenever you wish too !!? :) what soil PH level do you have to grow your tommies ? My Ph level in the soil is around 6.0.... in the british climate its not easy growing tommies outdoors in the ground or pots, we would be a lot better of with a greenhouse to grow them in..

[Pashmeena]

I am looking forward to grow stuff too! :)

[Kirsten]

I plan to start basil and eggplants in about two weeks :) I know it's early, but last year I started them around March and that turned out to be WAY too late. I'll just have to come up with a way to keep them warm :)

[edibles]

heated propagator?

[Kirsten]

Something like that, but I'll probably come up with a super cheap homemade version - we'll see :)

My mother just got a fancy birdfeeder that she wants to hang up in the garden. Dad's theory is that all the birdies will come to eat and then do their business in the garden so that we'll no longer have to fertilize it! (I don't know how realistic this idea is... :P ) Two years ago we had massive aphid problems and at first we had sparrows and finches eating the stupid buggers, but then my neighbor put up a super fancy birdfeeder and they all flocked over there!!

Anyway, going back to uni tomorrow and will hopefully start up the eggplants then if I have time, either way since I'll have a constant internet connection all summer I'm really looking forward to staying updated with everyone on muslimgrower!

By the way have I mentioned that I have a bunny? I think I have. Well today I was looking at the garden trying to figure out where things would go (it's still full of snow) and Dad mentioned that last year Mom took bunny into the garden and let her hop around while she planted rows of vegetables, only to look back when she was done and see that bunny had dug up all the rows she'd just planted. LOL

[Foz]

im considering getting a gardener in to redesign my garden!

Lol at bunny kirsten....mine does that to...

[Foz]

im actually out of the country from middle of feb to middle of march...so i guess im going to have to wait till i come back before i do anything but worried thats leaving it a bit late

[Kirsten]

My bunny loves to dig in the dirt - once I was out in the garden with her letting her dig away, and then it started to rain so I picked her up to take her inside - but my mom was horrified at how dirty she was and wouldn't let her back in the house. I had to sit outside with a towel and scrub every foot!

One of my friends suggested I just hold her out in the rain and let the rain wash her clean :D

I planted eggplants and basil today. I know it's super early, but last year my eggplants were slooooooooooow and barely got to 2 inches tall when they were supposed to be transplanted out. And the basil I plan to keep in pots indoors, so the sooner I can get leaves the better!

[MustafaMc]

so how do the tomatoes grow for you in your climate !?I plant into trays in late February and then move the seedlings into a cold frame after about a month. I transplant into a raised bed in late April. We have a long growing season and make loads of tomatoes.We eat a lot fresh and on sandwiches and can for use over the winter. I normally take some of the extra harvest in to share with my coworkers.

[~Obsidian~]

im considering getting a gardener in to redesign my garden!

Lol at bunny kirsten....mine does that to...
Anything happening on the design front?
im actually out of the country from middle of feb to middle of march...so i guess im going to have to wait till i come back before i do anything but worried thats leaving it a bit late
Nah I think March is a decent time to plant, just about right. Thats when most of my seed packets used to say to plant at the earliest.

I planted eggplants and basil today. I know it's super early, but last year my eggplants were slooooooooooow and barely got to 2 inches tall when they were supposed to be transplanted out. And the basil I plan to keep in pots indoors, so the sooner I can get leaves the better!
Whoa talk about early! We have such a short growing season over here that I would be quite willing to plant this early to compensate, if I knew that I could keep things alive :stormy:
I plant into trays in late February and then move the seedlings into a cold frame after about a month. I transplant into a raised bed in late April. We have a long growing season and make loads of tomatoes.We eat a lot fresh and on sandwiches and can for use over the winter. I normally take some of the extra harvest in to share with my coworkers.

Masha'Allah, you utilise your crops brilliantly!

I may not grow tomatoes this year :eek: or limit myself to a couple of plants. Hmmm...the cucumbers grew well and smelled lovely, think I'll want some of them (but a larger strain than I had last year). Beans are such a battle for me, the snails have a field day and they are so easily snapped so I don't think I'll include them this year...root vegetables come under constant fire from cats and squirrels so another no-go.

I'm not sure what else at the moment, I'd like to have more fruit plants. Maybe a second attempt at the physallis but started sooner? It grew well but the summer wasn't long enough.

Strawberries for sure :D mmm!

I'm hoping my dwarf pear, plum and fig trees make an attempt at fruiting this year, the pear is probably too small, the fig might be too small but the dwarf plum is at a pretty good size? Insha'Allah :sunny:

[farah]

Asalamu alaikam
aww it's nice to hear people are preparing now, times flies by
so it's not a bad idea at all, just looked up eggplant, (forgot what
it was again) didn't realise it was a berry, and has some nicotine too
but i hope you manage to get a decent size this year, we got one
out of a very reluctant eggplant plant and it was smaller than a clementine... :o
still went in to a dish but not the climate for them i suppose... And lots of
edible plants and trees being planted, I'd love to see a picture of
a dwarf peach tree...
Personally I will try some aubergine and maybe potatoes in a sack lol...
we have five very tall evergreen trees at the back of the garden, very close together (trying to get some privacy from nearby neighbours) is it possible that they're taking a lot of the nutrients from the garden?
Or would the roots run deep...? Even though cats try and
manure the end of the garden for us for free bless 'em...
And the neighbours have an apple tree and pear tree nearby would it be worth planting a fruit tree ourselves I wonder... well last year we managed to get a
shed put up in the back garden so it'll make it easier to garden come spring, summer..
Hmm as for bird poop, it's quite acidic but that myt be good for soil.. Anyone started with garlic plants
again?

[Foz]

Anything happening on the design front?



nah not yet.....cant afford it if we going on hols...rather spend the money on SHOPPING! lol

maybe next year inshAllah.... will have a go myself this year when we get back...but think ill stick to flowers etc rather than vegetables

[Kirsten]

Obsidian - I'm bailing on the beans this year too. Last year I had five or six plants but they would only produce like 2 beans at a time, and you can't do much with 10 beans. And by the time the next 10 are ready, the first 10 have shriveled and can't be eaten anymore... :(

And I'm hoping for better eggplant luck too! Last year I did Black Beauty (like the standard, oblong eggplant) and they didn't get any bigger than my fist. And I have small hands! This year I'm only doing long, Asian eggplants... hope to see better results :)

I'm so excited to see everyone's planning!

[Kirsten]

No germination from the eggplants as of yet, though it's been close to 70+ in my room (60+ outside, big windows = practically a sunroom). Not going to worry yet since I've heard they can take up to 2 weeks, and I don't remember how long they took last year.

The basil is being really wimpy though. I got a load of germination and then unexplainably, they all wimped out and died on me except for plants, one of which looks strong and the other is not looking so strong. I may go ahead and sow a second batch of those, given the luck I'm having.

on the other hand - my baby jade plant is branching! I'll post a picture of it later today, but I'm so excited - I wish I could upgrade it to a nice flowerpot instead of the disposable plastic cup it's still living in!