I start all of my vegetables in six packs. Lettuce does just great.

I think that most of my mistakes are due to timing, i.e. not planting soon enough. I also am root vegetable challenged. I can't seem to grow decent beets and carrots are so so. I will be researching them.

Even though I compost, I buy my compost from a local supplier because I can't generate enough for my garden.

Good luck this year!
SSG

I made the same mistake Boondoogle. I added a lot of chicken manure.

I had no success with onions, garlic, cilantro and the Thai peppers took forever to take off.

I had great success with eggplant, tomatoes and mescalin mix.

Then the mushrooms came which raised my concern. I had so may species I've never seen before *lol*

I pulled everything up after the frost and laid down fallen leaves from the trees. I'm going to turn the soil and follow Annie's advise with compost and try again.

After the spinach scare with E Coli outbreak I'm a little apprehensive using any kind of animal manure.

Edna

Edna, I just wonder if my garden is ever going to be productive again. I'm hoping that the chicken manure will be broken down by now. I haven't seen mushrooms, but on the other hand, I haven't seen any weeds, either. Bad sign. I have some wood ash from my fireplace, about a half gallon of it, and I was thinking of mixing it into the garden to raise the PH. Any experience with that?

SSG, thanks for confirming my thinking on the lettuce. Too bad you can't do that for carrots. I also am root-challenged. I put in carrots in the fall, but have gotten nothing but teeny-tiny plants. That may be due to the chicken compost, however. I can't produce enough compost either, so I usually use a product called Bumper Crop, which works out well, but is pretty expensive.

I'm thinking of extending my beds, just to dilute the soil in the existing space a little. Things are starting to grow a little now, so maybe I should just be patient.

Has anyone ever had too much space in their garden bed?

I can't believe anyone can have too much space in their garden - if so, i want to move to their place!

My biggest problem this last year was the peppers. We had a really cool spring, and I planted them out too early and the darn things never forgave me for the insult.

I also got a huge aphid infestation last year and I suspect it was because I did not have enough bean teepees up (again I screwed up on the timing of getting out the pole beans). Usually the lady bugs like to use them for their nurseries, so I am going to hafta make sure I put out lots of bean teepees this year. I planted a bunch of cosmos and that did pretty well as a trap crop, but I was an unhappy camper for about 3 weeks late spring last year.

Glad to hear I am not the only one who can't seem to make enough compost (or get the timing right on stuff!). I am an avid lasagna gardener, but even layering leaves and grass clippings and straw year round doesn't keep up with the veggies needs (we have no soil here - just a couple inches of clay over caliche). I buy my compost from a local shop that is organic - top dress twice a year and side dress as things seem to need it.

every time I hear someone talk about the importance of double digging I hafta laugh - when we need to dig a hole in our yard, we hafta rent a concrete chisel. Even a posthole digger won't touch the caliche. No way we can double dig here!

What I mean is this: I made a lot of new space last fall, and I actually ended up not using it all. I had all these ideas about succession planting lettuce, radishes and carrots there, but when absolutely nothing happened with the rows I did plant, I gave up on it. It made me wonder if I had taken on too much.

Manzomecorvus, I was wondering about plastic mulch and tenting to speed up tomatoes and peppers. Have you ever tried them?

boondoggle,

I can't imagine having extra space, but then I am convinced I can grow watermelons and muskmelons in a small urban garden!

haven't tried plastic mulches and tents - probably should, but it always seems like a bit too much like work for me. I drop heavy glass lampshades (bought cheap from the local salvage store) over seedlings and pile black rocks around the roots. course, my garden gets usually hammered by a hail storm or two, so it may not be laziness so much as finding something cheap and sturdy!

The biggest mistake last year was putting a new bed in the middle of the potager that is too big and consequently too hard to move the wheel barrow around it. So I'm taking it out and putting my round stock tank cum pond back in its place.

I also need to start my snap peas earlier (like today!) and have DH make stronger supports. The peas go nuts and just about uproot anything not bolted to the ground. I'm going to try some outside the potager, too, on a fence, just to extend my edible landscape a bit.

It's going to be 70 here again today so I'm going to plant the peas and carrots. I guess I'm fortunate because carrots do really well in my raised beds. Well, except those "alien" ones I get every so often. ; )

Diana

Here is a link that might be useful:

Diana, I tried to look at your picture, but was defeated by my stalling dialup service again. Rats!

I have to say amen to the "too big" bed. The bed I added last fall is too wide to reach into the middle without stepping on the soil. A definite mistake, which I plan to correct sometime soon.

Manzo, we don't get hail too often here in LA, but what I am afraid of is a first-class draught. We've not had a lot of rain this winter, and everything is very dry and dusty. And you're right, how could I have too much garden? I just have to organize my beds better, so they're easier for me to manage.

Me again. Got it this time. I remember him/her!