What should I plant this year?

My haphazard gardening days are almost over!  Planting whatever looked good or what I thought we should be eating, regardless of whether they were foods we actually ate!  I can't tell you how many times I have watched a plant grow, produce fruit, and continue to watch it ripen and die on the vine.  What was I thinking?  Waaah!  This year I am going to be a bit more practical and plant only those vegetables and fruits we will actually eat.

I am taking a Learn4Life gardening class offered through our library right now and the instructor already has my brain focused on making a garden that works for our family.  Before I decide what should be planted in our garden, I need to think about what kinds of foods and spices we eat and purchase on a regular basis.  Here is our standard grocery list:

• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Kiwi 
• Pears
• Banana 
• Pineapple
• Avocados
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Bell peppers
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Radishes
• Onions
• Potatoes
• Broccoli
• Squash (all kinds)
• Jalapenos
• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Basil

Oh my!  That is quite a list, but before you think I am going to plant all that, I am not.  Many of these foods will not grow in Zone 5b.  A little research will help me narrow down the list to the best plants to try and grow in my garden.

Money, space, and time.  What plants are cost effective?  How much garden space do we have available?  How much time will it take to nurture and grow the plant?

Money:

The more cost-effective plant choices are:

• Bell peppers
• Fruit trees
• Garlic
• Herbs 
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes

The less cost-effective plant choices are:

• Asparagus
• Carrots
• Celery
• Potatoes

Space:

Good choices for small gardens are:

• Arugula
• Blueberries
• Bush beans
• Carrots
• Dwarf cucumbers
• Dwarf squash
• Herbs
• Lettuce
• Pole beans
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Sweet bell peppers

Large gardens can handle:

• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Corn
• Pumpkins
• Watermelons

Time is probably my biggest problem right now.  I love to garden, but it is so hard to find more than a couple of minutes in a row!

The more time-consuming plants to grow are:

• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Eggplant
• Head lettuce

The less time-consuming are:

• Bush beans
• Cherry tomatoes
• Leaf lettuce
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Swiss chard
• Zucchini

I will need to decide if I am going to try and do some catch cropping or intercropping in our garden this year.  I haven't tried it in the past - just left those spots open.  This year I will be accompanied by two year old twin boys, so I better try and be realistic!

Some of the faster growing crops are:

• Beets
• Bok choy
• Bush beans
• Cress
• Green onions
• Leaf lettuce
• Mesclun
• Mizuna
• Mustard greens
• Parsley
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Spinach beet
• Tatsoi
• Turnips

Ok.  There are a couple on that list I haven't even heard of!  Need to get researching!

Timing is critical in gardening.  Plants are categorized as either warm weather crops or cool weather crops.  We have a pretty late freeze in Zone 5b (around May 20th), so we have a much shorter growing season than warmer climates.

Warm weather crops should be planted two weeks after the last frost:

• Beans
• Corn
• Cucumber
• Okra
• Peppers
• Squash
• Tomatoes
• Watermelon
• Zucchini

Cool weather crops can be planted as soon as the ground is workable:

• Carrots
• Chard
• Kale
• Parsley
• Parsnips
• Peas
• Potatoes
• Radishes
• Turnips
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Lettuce

So, back to my original list.  What can/should I grow this year?  I am going to add a fall party luxury to my list!  Those highlighted in yellow are good crops for Zone 5.  I have also included the approximate zones, type of soil, and best ph for that crop.

• Blueberries - Zones 3-11, loamy, chalky, or clay soil, 4-5 ph
• Strawberries - Zones 3-10, loamy soil, 5.5-7.5 ph
• Grapes - Zones 7-9
• Kiwi - Zones 6-9
• Pears- Zones 3-8, loamy soil, 6-7 ph
• Banana - Zones 8b-10
• Pineapple- Zones 9-10
• Avocados- Zones 8-10
• Lettuce - Zones 4-9, loamy soil, 5.8-6.8 ph
• Tomatoes - Zones 3-14, loamy soil, 5.5-7.5 ph
• Carrots - Zones 3-11, loamy soil, 6-6.5 ph
• Bell peppers- Zones 4-11, loamy soil, 5.5-7.5 ph
• Celery - Zones 2-10, all types of soil, 6-6.5 ph
• Cucumbers - Zones 3-14, sandy or loamy soil, 5.5-6.8 ph
• Radishes - Zones 5-14, many soil types, 5.5-6.8 ph
• Onions - Zones 3-10, most types of soil, 6-7 ph
• Potatoes - many soil types, 5-6 ph
• Broccoli - Zones 3-10, loamy and sandy soil, 6.2-7.2 ph
• Squash (all kinds) Zones 3-12, 5.6-7.5 ph
• Jalapenos - Zones 5-12, loamy and sandy soil, 7-8.5 ph
• Cilantro- Zones 3-11, loamy soil, 4.9-8.2 ph
• Parsley - Zones 5-9, well drained soil, 5.6-7 ph
• Basil - Zones 4-10, loamy, sandy, or silty soil, 5.5-7.0 ph
• Pumpkins - Zones 3-11, loamy soil, 6-7.5 ph

After reading about the specifics on growing a few of these items, I have decided to remove a few items from the list.  Celery, Potatoes, and Pears.  After removing those, I computed the average ph level for the garden.  It should be around 6.5 with a section set aside for the blueberry bushes between 4-5.  If I can somehow figure out how to achieve this, then all the plants would be in their optimal ph level range.

Next up is to analyze my garden space - the light, temperature, and wind, as well as its response to rain and water.  I will also take a closer look at the germination, harvest time, and spacing requirements of my crop choices.  Happy garden planning! 

Gardening - the beginning

In the fall of 2006, we moved into our brand new home with a blank yard to landscape.  I knew I wanted to have a garden, but I didn't know where to start.  Our yard is divided by a retaining wall running lengthwise, so in my mind it made sense to use the top part for gardening. The first summer of gardening I planted my "crops" straight into the ground.  I covered them with weed tarp to try and eliminate some of the need to weed.  Plants grew ok on the slope, but the water didn't absorb properly, pouring right off the wall.  Obviously, I didn't learn my lesson, and did the exact same thing the next year! Here are some pictures of the 2007 garden.

Fast forward to 2009.  I put in some stonework to add a little character to the gardening space.  I built up the middle part of the garden with stone retention walls so that I would be gardening on flat ground.  I still used the weed protection, but covered it in bark to help retain moisture.  We also added a black fence along the wall to keep our dog out of the garden :).  She loved the garden, but we didn't like her paws in it!  These pictures are from April 2010 - no snow, but still winter here in Colorado!  I never remove the dead foliage until spring.  Hmmm.  Is that the right way to do it?

In 2011, I decided to switch over to square foot gardening.  My dad and I built (4) 3'x5' raised beds with dividers.  I used Mel's special soil formula of vermiculite, peat moss, and compost.  There wasn't a need to put down any weed tarp, because the soil was "new" and the lack of soil compacting makes it easy to remove weeds as they arrive.  Since that year, I have only used organic and natural products in the garden.  I never really did use a lot of fertilizers and such, but in the olden days I had been known to sprinkle a little Miracle-Gro to give them that extra zooompf.  I know now that is not necessary and is in fact detrimental to the health of the soil/fruit/vegetables.  I remember the garden looking beautiful that summer, but I can't find any pictures of it!  One of these days I will try and organize the zillions of photos on our computer!