What did you plant in your garden this year?

[Scott R Nelson]

Finally getting (semi-)serious about a garden

Last fall I had my back yard re-landscaped so that I have a fairly large garden area. I don't expect to use all of the space that I have, but I'm trying a few things. I was going to put in one or two 4' x 8' grow boxes, but now I have two 80' long dirt sections that are about four feet wide, but sloping a bit with a retaining wall at the lower edge.

What I've planted so far:

• Four tomato plants
• Green peppers
• Cucumber
• One Zucchini
• One butternut squash
• Jalapeño
• Onion
• A row of green beans which have just sprouted
• A row of sugar peas which have also just sprouted
• Random flowers including a few big sunflowers.

Oh, and three fruit trees - apricot, peach, and a 3-variety pear tree. Those won't be allowed to produce anything four a couple of years, though.

I have a drip system set up for the whole area, but am still figuring out how to make it work. Individual water tubes are fine for a tomato plant or something, but not for a row of beans. I discovered the small soaker hoses that can be used with a drip system and that's what is watering some of it. By trial and error I've figured out that you can only use about four feet of that type of hose and still get enough water out of all of it. So I have multiple T-fittings with four feet of soaker hose out each side.

I figure that after this year I'll understand what works for me and what doesn't. And next year we'll actually sprout our own tomato plants and other stuff like that. I'm expecting to have a bunch of little trays of seedlings in all of our south facing windows about March or so.

I had a 4' x 8' grow box when I lived in Folsom which I used for two years. Didn't really get any great crops from that one. At least we harvested a few things. Otherwise I haven't done any gardening for many years.

[Pelado]

I bought some green bean and cucumber seeds early this year, but still haven't planted anything in the vegetable garden. Probably won't end up planting anything. I tied up the raspberries in the southwest corner of the yard. Looks like it will be a record crop. That's not saying much since last year was the first year I started caring for those properly.

In the flower bed in front of the house, I put in geraniums and begonias that are both doing really well. In the bed between the garage and the walkway, I pulled out some bushes and added more roses so now that whole bed is rose bushes. Overall, the flower beds have never looked better than they do now.

[BigFatMeanie]

Strawberries are difficult to grow, especially in Utah.

Things I plant yearly/permanently:

• Green beans - Easy to grow, we also bottle them and eat them throughout the year.
• Corn - Fresh picked sweet corn is the best. Corn sugar turns to starch as soon as you start picking so sweet corn, like tomatoes, are always better home-grown. The main downside with corn is that it requires a lot of space and is pretty hard on the soil so it's best to rotate it and use fertilizer.
• Tomatoes - Anyone that thinks a store-bought tomato is better than a home-grown one is crazy. 16 plants, 4 varieties. I used to try heirloom varieties but they're harder to grow and are more susceptible to disease and insect. So now I stick with hybrid and just buy seeds each year and start them indoors. Utah is pretty hot for tomatoes so I keep mine under a 40% shade cloth and it helps prevent blossom drop.
• Pumpkins - for Halloween, the great big 100+ lb kind.
• Raspberries do fairly well in Utah when they're planted on a north-facing side so they don't get too much heat and when you prune them properly, which is relatively easy. I'm getting loads and loads of raspberries from my canes right now, enough to make a fresh raspberry pie every other day.

Things I used to plant but don't anymore

• Peas - easy to grow but not worth the space/effort. You plant them and water them and then you pick and pick and pick and pick, and then you shell and shell and shell and shell, and at the end of your efforts you have a bowl of peas that don't taste any better than the $0.99 bag of frozen peas you get at the grocery store. It's just not worth the garden space for me.
• Onions - same as the peas, a homegrown onion doesn't taste any better or add any more value than onions at the store. Not worth the space. Yeah, yeah, people plant them for salsa gardens. I make salsa too but I just buy the onions, no need waste space on them.
• Potatoes - utter waste of space. You can buy a 10lb bag of potatoes for cheap.
• Broccoli - Took a little practice but it's not too hard to grow if you plant early. Susceptible to cutworms in Utah. I'm not sure why I don't plant this anymore. Lazy, mainly.
• Carrots - not worth the space.
• Strawberries - Hard to grow. I suck at them. I've just never had good luck with strawberries.
• Blackberries - Harder to prune correctly than raspberries and not as useful. I took them out.
• Radishes - Easy to grow but don't add much value and not worth the space. Who eats radishes that often anyway?
• Asparagus - The problem is they need a permanent location and I like to rotate stuff.

Things I grow occasionally when I'm going to can them

• Cucumbers - for pickling using Wuap's recipe. We got enough a couple years ago that we're still not through them so we only plant these on an as-needed basis.
• Jalapenos - for canning. We only plant these on an as-needed basis. Still working through our supply from past years

Things I will never plant in my garden under any circumstances

• Zucchini - Vile weed. Has no flavor. Is a garbage vegetable used as a fiber filler in recipes. Might as well just eat wood cellulose.
• Squash of any variety - There is a reason everyone is giving away zucchini and squash from their gardens each year but very few people are giving away tomatoes or corn from their gardens. Squash sucks. Only geriatric fogeys eat squash. Like that old geezer on the Chuck-a-Rama commercial on the radio where he says, "I go back 2 or 3 times for the squash". Gag
• Beets - Gross. I don't know what is worse, beets or squash.

My how time changes things. Here is an update for this year:

Planted:

• 18 tomato plants. Started from seed and set them out in April with Wall of Water. They are now 3 feet high with blossoms.
• Sugar-snap peas. These are better than shelling peas, eat them whole. They are 5 feet high on the trellises and blossoming.
• Broccoli. Plants are big and no problems with cutworms this year but I'm still waiting for them to head out.
• Strawberries: I replanted last year but pinched off all the blossoms to promote plant growth. That looks to be a good decision as this year I'm getting bigger strawberries than I've ever had.
• Raspberries: Refreshed my patch with 10 new canes this year. The new canes won't produce until next year.

Still to plant:

• Pumpkins
• Beans - Just enough for fresh eating. We had a huge crop last year and canned plenty to last this year.
• Soybeans (edamame) - This worked out well last year so we are doing it again. Blanche the pods and freeze. Heat in the microwave and serve just like restaurant edamame - tastes great.
• Corn - Waiting for the soil to hit 72 degrees. Probably not this Saturday but next I'll plant. It's later than usual but it was a rather longer winter than usual.

and...

Zucchini. I know, I know. I said I would never ever plant this vile weed. But I'm trying to reduce/moderate my carb intake and zoodles have proved to be a minimally-palatable pasta substitute - basically a low-carb vehicle for bringing sauce to the mouth. We first bought zoodles at the store. After a few times buying the zoodles Mrs. Meanie got a spiralizer attachment for Christmas and bought the raw zucchini instead. Then I thought, "Why am I paying for zucchini when we can grow this trash with zero effort?" My desire to improve my weight situation and lab numbers (my triglycerides are reaching lows I haven't seen in a long time) have compromised my principles and I've stooped to polluting my garden with zucchini.

EDIT: But beets still suck regardless of what Dwight Schr-ute says.

[old_gregg]

Potatoes - utter waste of space. You can buy a 10lb bag of potatoes for cheap.

if the cost of vegetables is the reason you’re going to all this work, i’ve got great news for you friendo

[BigFatMeanie]

if the cost of vegetables is the reason you’re going to all this work, i’ve got great news for you friendo

When one is stocking one's underground bunker with a 10-year supply for up to 10 people, vegetable cost can't be overlooked.

[Copelius]

When one is stocking one's underground bunker with a 10-year supply for up to 10 people, vegetable cost can't be overlooked.

Which is exactly why we are not planting anything this year. I am tired of spending 200+ on fertilizer, etc and coming out with 30 worth of veggies tops. I live in the sandy part of Sandy and other than beans, we have not been able to have a decent crop of anything over the years. We cannot even grow zucchini, because of squash beetles that we cannot control despite even more money being spent. And the worst bane of our gardening efforts are the gophers that keep coming over from the orchard in our back yard that the owners have let go to pot. So I told the wife we are done.

[old_gregg]

Which is exactly why we are not planting anything this year. I am tired of spending 200+ on fertilizer, etc and coming out with 30 worth of veggies tops. I live in the sandy part of Sandy and other than beans, we have not been able to have a decent crop of anything over the years. We cannot even grow zucchini, because of squash beetles that we cannot control despite even more money being spent. And the worst bane of our gardening efforts are the gophers that keep coming over from the orchard in our back yard that the owners have let go to pot. So I told the wife we are done.

smiths has zucchini. harmons probs does too.

[BigFatMeanie]

Macabee gopher traps are the best https://www.amazon.com/Macabee-MGT-G.../dp/B00004RA58. Unfortunately for the Macabee company, their patent expired so now there are lots of cheap knock-offs https://www.amazon.com/Sweeneys-Goph...250525-0273311

You must have 2 (the cheaper Sweeneys come in a pack of 2) to set them in each direction of the tunnel. Setting the traps is an art. This Instructables guide is pretty good: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-trap-a-gopher/ Some key points from the guide:

One thing that helps in finding the tunnel is to have a stick with which you can probe down into the ground. I use a piece of rebar with a rounded point at one end. I start with my guess as to where the tunnel is and push it down into the ground. If I feel a tunnel, great! If not, I try it a couple inches on either side.

Once the trap is in place, secure the safety line with a stake so an injured gopher won't run away with your trap. The safety line should be made from something the gopher will not be able to gnaw through. Something metal like a chain or heavy wire works well.

The guy that wrote the Instructables guide doesn't know much about gophers. Gophers traverse their entire tunnel system at least once every 24 hours so if you find a tunnel and trap it both directions then you don't have get too clever about trying to anticipate where the gopher will go or trying to entice him to your trap.

The most important thing:

Cover your hole with a board, plastic, or cardboard. Anything that will keep the light out of your hole.

You absolutely must keep the light out of the hole.

[Pelado]

Macabee gopher traps are the best https://www.amazon.com/Macabee-MGT-G.../dp/B00004RA58. Unfortunately for the Macabee company, their patent expired so now there are lots of cheap knock-offs https://www.amazon.com/Sweeneys-Goph...250525-0273311

You must have 2 (the cheaper Sweeneys come in a pack of 2) to set them in each direction of the tunnel. Setting the traps is an art. This Instructables guide is pretty good: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-trap-a-gopher/ Some key points from the guide:





The guy that wrote the Instructables guide doesn't know much about gophers. Gophers traverse their entire tunnel system at least once every 24 hours so if you find a tunnel and trap it both directions then you don't have get too clever about trying to anticipate where the gopher will go or trying to entice him to your trap.

The most important thing:

You absolutely must keep the light out of the hole.

Poison ftw.

[BigFatMeanie]

Poison ftw.

Yeah, its works on dogs too so that's an added bonus.

[Copelius]

smiths has zucchini. harmons probs does too.

I'm not looking to grow it, but my wife was a bit upset she couldn't.

[Copelius]

Macabee gopher traps are the best https://www.amazon.com/Macabee-MGT-G.../dp/B00004RA58. Unfortunately for the Macabee company, their patent expired so now there are lots of cheap knock-offs https://www.amazon.com/Sweeneys-Goph...250525-0273311

You must have 2 (the cheaper Sweeneys come in a pack of 2) to set them in each direction of the tunnel. Setting the traps is an art. This Instructables guide is pretty good: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-trap-a-gopher/ Some key points from the guide:





The guy that wrote the Instructables guide doesn't know much about gophers. Gophers traverse their entire tunnel system at least once every 24 hours so if you find a tunnel and trap it both directions then you don't have get too clever about trying to anticipate where the gopher will go or trying to entice him to your trap.

The most important thing:

You absolutely must keep the light out of the hole.

We have done traps, poison, etc. They keep coming under the fence from the orchard when we get the yard clear. We'll keep going. I have already trapped 3 this year.

[Pelado]

We have done traps, poison, etc. They keep coming under the fence from the orchard when we get the yard clear. We'll keep going. I have already trapped 3 this year.

I only had to do one application of poison when I found moles in the back yard of the rental property that I had just listed for sale. Still have quite a bit of the poison left.

[Pelado]

Yeah, its works on dogs too so that's an added bonus.

[mtnbiker]

We have done traps, poison, etc. They keep coming under the fence from the orchard when we get the yard clear. We'll keep going. I have already trapped 3 this year.

Utah Airguns is the place to go. Pair an air gun with a night vision scope and let the fun begin.