So, is a good rule of them that self-pollinating species are generally safe, whereas insect/wind-pollinated species require extra attention? Generally, that's true. But growing only self-pollinating vegetables really limits you in what vegetables you can grow. It limits you to only using heirloom (open-pollinated), self-pollinating vegetables and well-stabilized older hybrids. It won't keep some newer hybrid things from reverting even if they are self-pollinating. In other words, if you grow a newer hybrid variety of tomato or squash that hasn't been around for years and is well-stabilized the seeds from that tomato or squash may revert the following year regardless of any cross-pollination that may or may not have taken place. Follow me? From Mother Earth News "The easiest way for the beginning seed grower to avoid [cross pollination problems] is to concentrate on self-pollinating vegetables - such as lettuce, okra, beans, peas, and tomatoes - which have flowers designed in ways that discourage or prohibit fertilization by other plants. (Peas and tomatoes, for example, have already pollinated themselves by the time the flowers open!) Still, to restrict your efforts to these plants is to miss out on much of the fun, challenge and satisfaction of growing your own seeds." And bagging a couple of blooms and hand pollinating them is really quite simple to do and takes only a few minutes. There is a FAQ on how to do here at GW. Had your Dad done that you wouldn't be scarred for life. ;) Help or make it more confusing? Dave

I know I'm not saving money in the short term. I've only had my community plot for three seasons, after a long break from gardening. My start up costs were "re-start" up costs. And still, I'm building soil, learning what plants work well in this microclimate, finding my way… I'm not taking the least expensive route. I have to say that the other benefits mentioned ARE a cost factor. We pay dearly here in CA for organic produce with the water shortage, and it's only going to get more expensive. But I know I am not gardening efficiently enough to maximize the space for production and savings. If I concentrated more on actively succession planting and intercropping, I would. I think over the long term, I will save money eventually. In the mean time I am content to save on therapy and anti-depressants.

Most of these types of containers come with recommendations for filler but if yours didn't then the norm is any quality soil-less potting mix. There are many brands available but the key is no soil, no dirt. Most contain peat, vermiculite or perlite, some bark fines, some lime to balance the pH, and some mild form of fertilizer (either organic or slo-release synthetics). You'll find more info on fillers for containers over on the Container Gardening forum here. I agree with all Lisa said, especially that your list is a big one for such a small container unless you only want a few of each with limited production. I'd suggest you find other containers for your strawberries and herbs and save the space for the plants that require more room. Plus they have very different nutrient needs. If this Rustic Elevated Bed is what you are talking about then about all it is going to hold is about 4-5 bush bean plants, a short 2 foot row of green onions, a couple of heads of lettuce, 1 jalapeno pepper plant (they aren't small plants), and even that is going to be crowded. You can plant your lettuce and onions from seed if you wish and in your location should get at least 1 crop of lettuce (use leaf rather than head lettuce as it needs much less room) and some onions but they need to be planted ASAP. Better yet buy transplants for both. Good luck and enjoy your new project. Just don't try to over-crowd everything as you'll end up with little production. Sometimes planting less = getting more. :-) Dave

I'm going to put a plug in here for Daisy Farms, located in Dowagiac, Michigan. I got my asparagus crowns from them, 200 of them and 198 of them grew. I just ordered strawberry plants and horseradish from them a couple of weeks ago, they will be shipped in mid-May. I live in Northern/Western Michigan, about 50 miles North of Grand Rapids. I don't seem to have any issues at all with growing a LOT of vegetables, although some tomatoes really dislike our short growing season and I find that hot peppers must be started inside pretty early, I've already got mine started. I've grown various sweet peppers, from Ajvarski to California Wonder to sweet banana, they've all done fine. I don't buy separate cucumbers for eating fresh or for pickling, I get Miss Pickler or Northern Pickling, whatever my local feed store gets in bulk. I have trouble with spinach, it bolts too quickly to get much use out of it, it goes from cool to really hot too quickly for spinach to like it, so I plant lettuces, bok choi, leaf amaranth and mizuna instead. Snap peas do well as long as you get them in early enough, although I've had more trouble with chipmunks eating them than I have had growing them. Deer love them too. (sigh) We eat a lot of dried beans and since I don't want to mess with supports, I go for the bush types. Varieties which have done well for me here are Taylor Horticultural, various types of cranberry beans, mayacoba, kebarika, red kidney type beans and soldier beans. Michigan grows a lot of dried beans and they do well pretty much everywhere in the state, I think. Green beans I just buy whatever is at the feed store in bulk, from Provider to Blue Lake, they're all the same to me. I do buy Royal Burgundy because I like them and think they stay firmer when canned. I've had no luck with brussels sprouts, our season just doesn't seem long enough and I get tiny little sprouts about the time things start freezing. Cabbage does really well, though. Broccoli always seems to get "strong", but aspabroc is amazing, I just keep cutting those little florets and they are always sweet and good. Winter squash is something I always grow, and we just like butternut best. I've still got butternut in storage from last year, so it stores well too, good thing to put into that root cellar! We also like the blue Haikodo and the red Kuri, and various acorn types, including Carnival. Delicata is good, but it likes a long season so it's not consistent. I have raspberries, a mix of Caroline (my favorite) and Latham, both do well. I don't have blackberries. The asparagus I got from Daisy Farms and it was Jersey Giant. I'm very pleased with it. The strawberries I ordered was a mixture they have, June bearing, and I don't know how I'll like them because I don't have them yet. I had a lot of trouble with Ozark Beauties, they got everything from fungus to some kind of rot to mildew, no matter what I did I never even got enough berries to eat fresh and I planted them three years ago. They are in a raised bed and I have terrible luck growing anything in raised beds, for some reason. My raised beds are going to be repurposed for early spring greens and lettuce or they may become cold frames with the addition of some old windows, and I'm putting the berries into a different/sunnier spot. If lettuce won't grow in those blasted raised beds I'm tearing them apart and giving up on them entirely, although it does make it much more convenient for the deer to eat everything in them without having to lower their heads too far... Good luck, don't start too big. I know lots of people who have just given up altogether because they were so excited to start and underestimated the time and work that went into their gardening. Annie