Jamie, thank you so much for posting these links!

Trying to get a smallish garden in before spring (didn't intend to get it done for another year and still might not)... but at any rate, that's so useful. I'm a newbie to anything other than pole beans and tomatoes, so those reports with stats are a true gift!

You're welcome, good luck!

I received the seeds for the trial today Lang with some row markers and the evaluation sheets

I chose

Heritage Pole Beans: Turkey Craw vs. Hill Family Greasy

Compact Cucumber: Spacemaster vs. Bush Crop

Pickler Cucumber: Cool Customer vs. H-19 Little Leaf

Genovese Basil: Dolce Fresca vs. Aroma II

Nasturtium: Alaska vs. Trailing

and a “blind” bean trial

I started the basil seeds yesterday, March 30. I put 2 seeds in each of jiffy pod for a total of 24. I used jiffy pods because I had them on-hand. All of the pods are in the same tray.

The basil seeds have germinated. It looks like close to 100% also. I was in a bit of a rush this morning and didn't take time to count.

I started the nasturtiums today, April 7. The varieties are “Alaska” (variegated) and a Trailing type.

Your baby basil looks good! Did you soak your nasturtiums before planting? I'm trying them for the first time this year, and the instructions said to soak between paper towels overnight. I can't find the seed packet so I've no idea what I planted - I'm usually organized, darn it! ETA, I'm thinking Salmon Baby, Tropaeolum majus.

Please report back on your pole beans... would love to plant some good producers next year.

I did not soak them. I’ve grown them for years and have always had decent luck with germination without soaking. It has rained so much since I planted them though that they have gotten well soaked in the containers haha!

Thanks Jamie. Your nasturtiums are doing so well! I sowed my seeds April 3rd, and don't see any germination. Perhaps I'd best purchase another packet and try again. We've had tons of rain as well. I'll look for the Alaska variety locally.

Oh, sorry for the confusion- that's another photo of the basil :) the nasturtiums haven't germinated yet.

Thank you Jamie, maybe I ought to give mine more time them.

The first noticeable difference in the basil seedlings is that the Aroma II seedlings are noticeably taller. They are all still in the same flat and get the same amount of light.

I will be starting the rest of the seeds in the trial this coming week.

I set up the supports and planted two varieties of pole beans this evening (April 16)- Hill Family Greasy and Turkey Craw. Tomorrow, I’ll sow the cucumber and “blind” beans.

Jamie, if you have a moment to spare at any time, could you tell me what type of support system you use for your pole beans, and if you plant seed on both sides (if it's a lattice type system)? At your convenience : ) Looks like I will be getting that garden tilled and ready next month, but no time to plant (renovating and re-doing entire yard... still). Next year will be wonderful tho!

ETA: My nasturtiums never did germinate and I've no idea why. Dang.

I used 2 6-ft T-Posts at the end of the raised bed with a mesh attached between them for the beans to climb. This time, I used this product: https://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/trellis-netting/hortonova-fg-79%22-x-250-9716.0.html I'm going to use the same mesh for cucumber supports also.

Thanks so much Jamie! I just felt you'd know better than myself what to use. I'd thought to use metal posts with twine as a trellis, but that mesh or something similar would add better support.

Oh you’re welcome. A heavy gauge wire would work well also. I like the look of wooden or bamboo “teepee” supports but they aren’t as practical in our garden. One year I did build a support frame with bamboo but it only lasted a couple of years.

Some of the nasturtiums are germinating. I’ll get a good count tomorrow. I planted all 4 varieties of cucumbers today and got the trellising in place for them.

I used some tomato cages for the smaller cucumbers (they aren’t any good for tomatoes but do a good job with smaller vining plants)

Thanks for reporting on your nasturtiums Jamie. That confirms mine won't germinate (got them winter-sown too late, along with other plants that also didn't germinate). There's always next year. I agree with you, I'm not fond of tomato cages for tomatoes : ) I prefer staking.

I've had mixed results with the cucumbers so far. Two varieties failed to germinate in our raised beds (Bush Crop and Spacemaster). I tried starting them twice and ended up putting the rest of the seeds in Jiffy pods inside the house. The ones in the Jiffy pods germinated and I'll transplant them soon.

The nasturtiums are growing well. The Alaska variety was the first to germinate, but the trailing variety has grown better.

I transplanted half of the basil into raised beds (beside tomatoes) and put the other half in pots. Both varieties are growing at about the same rate. I used some of the Dolce Fresca in lasagna this past weekend. It had a nice flavor. I'll try the Aroma II in something else this week. Right now, just based on the growth and germination, I think I prefer Aroma II.

The bush beans are growing, but I do not have an opinion on them just yet.

The other cucumbers are growing at about the same rate, though "Little Leaf" was slow to germinate.

The Turkey Craw Beans are out-growing the Hill Family Greasy variety. Both suffered some leaf damage from pests, but I've gotten that taken care of.

The Trailing Nasturtiums are out-growing the Alaska variety also. They should begin blooming soon.

The bush cucumber transplants are doing fairly well. So far, both varieties are growing at about the same rate.

Aroma II is still my preferred basil, at this time.

I don't think there is any significant difference between Little Leaf and Cool Customer cucumbers right now, but they are just getting started.

I planted the "blind" beans this past weekend and am waiting for them to germinate. I expect to see something happen in the next day or two.

I submitted my results today- they were mixed. I had pest issues with both bean trials so they didn't produce for me. Spacemaster and Cool Customer Cucumbers were on top for me, as was Aroma II basil- though the other variety was a close second. The Trailing Nasturtiums out-performed Alaska by a wide margin.

Thank you for updating. I'm so sorry about your beans. I've made a note to buy Trailing Nasturtiums for next year. Just finished our small garden... very small suburban garden. Probably too late, but planted carrots, broccoli, and brussel sprouts (seeds) for late winter/early spring harvest. We'll see.

Thanks- you win some and lose some in The garden every season - that’s what keeps it exciting hahaha

I transplanted some cabbage and Brussels sprouts a few weeks ago and then cabbage but we have had temperatures in the high 90s for several weeks. I’m not Sure what they will do. I think we are looking at 90s until the end of the month

Same here with the temps. Crazy for September. But then we had an odd-ball winter too. I'll report back with germination, seeds planted, if you wish. New to this and like you said, win some, lose some!

Oh, what do you use to cover your brussel sprouts and cabbage for freeze protection? And do you use hoops or just pull it over them? Thanks!

We hit 100 yesterday!

We use Agribon fabric to cover our winter garden beds https://www.johnnyseeds.com/sale/sale-tools-supplies/agribon%2B-ag-19-10-x-50-row-cover-9065.html?cgid=sale-tools-and-supplies#src=home_slide1a_20190912&start=1

Last year, we bent PVC pipes over the beds and secured them with re-bar that we drove into the ground. This year, we are re-using the pipes, but are building hinged lids that will make it easier to get into the beds. Here's one that we have finished (aside from putting the fabric on them:

Garden · More Info

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The agribon fabric does a good job in our climate.

Jamie, thank you! I'm not sure how I missed your response for so long. Husband had PEX tubing leftover, which is smaller than 1/2", so rebar wouldn't work. Bought the thinner garden stakes (metal with green plastic covering), and will use that this winter. I'd seen the agribon at Johnny's (got some seed from them this spring) and wondered, but thought it wouldn't do the trick. We live in the same State, so hopefully : ) 100 F!!! You must be sweltering, and in a warmer area. Whoo.

You've done such a neat job on the pvc hoops - and what a very neat garden you have. Am I seeing drip line? We've got pvc underground running to our garden, with filter and reducer, but no drip lines as I hope winter will be coming along, eventually. I planted rather close together... hope I can do as neat a job as you have done : ) Clever idea to make hinged covers... guess I'll be trotting out in the cold to cover and uncover this year. This is the garden just prior to planting rows... Yes, our a large part of our small garden is covered. Birds here eat everything... tomatoes, peppers, everything. We have skunks, ground hogs, and of course rabbits and so forth, but it's the rabbits and groundhogs that are the most devastating. Buried the chicken wire down and out to deter them. That should do it. The open smaller garden is for garlic and lettuce and such that the birds won't bother.

Flowers in our Gardens · More Info

My first year to plant anything other than tomatoes and cukes, Jamie, and keeping fingers crossed something grows and produces! Ha!

Planted seeds 1 week ago:

• Chantenay Red Core Carrots
• Rainbow blend carrots
• Waltham 29 broccoli (which germinated in 3 days)
• Long Island Improved Brussel Sprouts (germinated in 3-5 days)

And for next summer also sowed seed:

• Giant Musselburgh Leeks

and this fall I'll also plant hardneck garlic (have grown before) as well as a couple types of shallots.

I'll report back with any news if you wish. I sure do appreciate the garden fabric info. The photos are amazing... gives me an idea of how tall to make my hoops - for easier covering/uncovering. Thanks much Jamie!

Very nice! When we move to a larger property, we are planning to surround the garden with a structure like yours to keep the critters out. Currently we are in a subdivision and don't have many issues with wildlife at all.

Yes, that's a drip irrigation system and it works surprisingly well. We got it from https://www.dripworks.com/garden-bed-irrigation-kit-medium (including the timer). It's been great and we really have not had any major problems with it.

We ended up setting out some of our fall transplants yesterday, in spite of the heat and rigged some tarpaulins over it to keep them shaded from the sun. They were getting too large and I didn't want to pot them up for only a couple of weeks.

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If we have any failures, there's still time to start some more things- we are not expecting the first frost until after the first week in November, if accuweather.com's long-range forecast is believable.

Wow, you've got a lot of raised beds... I'm guessing more gardening room than our enclosed garden! We also live in the 'burbs, but closer to the mountains than you I imagine, thus all the critters. Our back yard fence was added this summer, so no more deer or turkey running through the back yard (which I'll miss, but not with the garden). The covered area is 10' deep, 18' long, and the uncovered area is 10' deep and 9' long, so a total of 10' x 27' (or 9 yards in length). Did you start your transplants indoors with grow lights? They are quite large! I'm hoping to set up a basic fluorescent system in our guest room for next summer's tomatoes and see how that goes. No experience hardening off, but I can learn. I've wintersown quite successfully - but flowers only.

Ahhhh, great minds think alike! I researched drip systems and found dripworks to be the easiest to understand, so that's the one I went with also : ) As mentioned, I've not installed/connected the lines yet, but am thinking the dripline rather than the tape... I think the soaker dripline (smaller, round) will be easier to manipulate. On the outside of the enclosed garden area, I've got a gooseberry on one side - with room for strawberries, and 3 blueberries and a fig on the other side, and I'll probably add dripline surrounding those. If you've any experience regarding dripline to add, please do. I didn't buy a timer.

for some reason my location doesn't show up in my user name any more, but I’m near Memphis so a long way away from the mountains (both the Appalachians and the Ozarks) Haha! I do live in a mostly rural area and we have a lot of deer, rabbits, armadillos and the other usual wildlife but they don’t generally com pe into our yard (fortunately). Well, in the last we had a few armadillos dig in the front flower beds but none this year

I strtrd the first transplants inside, under LED lights, in mid-August, but after a couple of weeks, I moved them outside under a covered patio then eventually under a pergola. They got dappled sunlight and the wind helped to toughen up Their stems. I had to be extra diligent about watering though because they dried out pretty quickly from the wind and heat. I would also move them into direct sunlight for a few hours, but its been way too hot for them to stay in full sun lol day long.

We ran 1/4” drip lines in each bed- 4 lines per bed. They are connected to the larger suppply tubes that are attached to the timer and hose from the spigot. I’m comsidering adding a few spray heads to the drip lines or replacing them with 1/4” tubing and spray heads in a couple of the beds.

we have 7 beds for vegetables that are all 4ft by 8ft and about 16” deep- but they only have about 12” of soil in them. We had about 20 grow bags this year also, and we tried straw bales. The bales were actually really successful, but I don’t think I’ll use them next year. I think we will build regular raised beds instead. We had 10 straw bales with zucchini and some other squashes.

Then you're area is warmer than ours in the winter. I guess I'm still not sure about using the cloth as opposed to a heaver mil clear plastic to keep warmth in. I do know pre-watering helps with freezing. I'm up early enough to remove anything if needed.

RE: hardening. A friend told me to use a leaf blower on the lowest setting, at a distance if necessary, to harden off - I thought that was rather unusual, but perhaps it helps, LOL! I didn't have time this year to start anything early (we're remodeling and trying desperately to finish up in the next few months - it's already been over a year of living in a mess).

Why are you thinking of changing to some spray heads? Curious if I need to alter my plans. I'd thought the spray heads hit the lower branches and sometimes promoted rot, disease, and pests... am I wrong? So new to this, and any advice appreciated.

Your dripworks setup is similar to ours. I just ordered the small kit to start, as I wasn't sure how much of what I wanted and needed only very little mainline. We've got pvc buried underground from the spigot at the house to the interior of the larger fully enclosed garden... The chicken wire 'wall' that separates the two areas is where it comes out and where the filter and restrictor are located. I'll run the mainline all the way around the 1 x 12 that separates those 2 areas, drilling holes in the 1 x 12 as needed to run the mainline. The driplines will come off the main tubing. I've left the drip line off for now as hand watering this winter is easy, and I want to blow out the water in the buried PVC to winterize. ETA: Aw, here's a pic:

Flowers in our Gardens · More Info

I've never heard of straw bale gardening, but then I'd not heard of winter sowing before either, and that was a monumental success for all the new flowers this year.

I think I'll plant a single dwarf tomato plant in a planter on our patio... I know it'll need extra watering, but it'll be a good test to see if the birds peck at it. Past tomatoes were decimated if not covered. Lost every gooseberry and blueberry this past summer as I'd not covered them adequately with netting... I'd picked off most buds anyway to promote root growth (first year). I'll be better prepared next summer.

The rock stacked around the perimeter won't be mortared - I want to be able to access teh 1 x 12 around the garden to remove it when it rots away. It acts like a raised bed, but isn't. Everything is screwed, not nailed.

Alright, I've another question - and by the way, thank you Jamie for guiding this vegetable newbie! I've room to plant 6 tomatoes plants this spring without overcrowding. It's just the 2 of us. Will I have enough to freeze or can? I'm guessing the answer depends on how much I harvest, right? Heirlooms of 3 varieties, but not sure which.

Also, for what it's worth, I've been burying all my veg scraps and every so often coffee grounds (no citrus, no meat) in the garden area I've not planted. Hoping to have it compost naturally. Sound ok?At some point, I will quite bombarding you with questions!

I was thinking of getting some spray heads to help with watering parts of the bed where I have more than 1 plant per square foot (like beans). I'm still on the fence about that though.

It's hard to say if 6 will be enough for freezing and fresh eating. What sort of varieties are you considering? A couple of cherry tomato plants will give you more than enough for salads all summer long.

This site recommends 2-4 per person, so 6 is in the middle.

https://www.gardengatemagazine.com/articles/web-extras/all/how_many_veggies/

We planted 20 total this past summer, but we were giving tomatoes away to relatives and some friends. We still were able to freeze several quarts (I can't remember the exact count right now). Are you considering indeterminate or determinate plants?

I have never tried burying scraps like that, but I have heard of some people doing it. As long as it doesn't attract animals, I don't think there is much of a problem. It will eventually decompose- and actually, I heard a podcast that talked about something similar. Kevin at EpicGardening.com was talking about using bokashi powder to scraps like that when you bury it to aid in the decomposition: https://store.bokashicycle.com/bcm?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_absBRD1ARIsAO4_D3uUOjIWbUW_ErW7wtMLPBw8BwsdXdpQrnihdXVPe9HBScib_kWfVCsaAn1jEALw_wcB Bokashi composting is a Japanese technique for anaerobic composting using a particular mix of microorganisms. Here's the podcast

Also, come join us on this thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5779059/veggie-tales-september-2019#24614501 We have one for each month and talk about all sorts of gardening issues. It's a small group of regular posters also.

I thought I'd try 1 Lime Green Dwarf Salad tomato for the planter on the patio - exposed to birds so we'll see. For the garden: 2 Cherokee Carbon (heard they were similar to Cherokee Purples but larger, better producing), 2 Mortgage Lifters, and 2 of a yellow skinned variety. Not yet positive which though. Do you have recommendations? I hear heirlooms tend to produce less per plant, but taste far better. I've planted mostly your basic non-heirlooms in recent years but can't say if I have enough as the birds get to them just as they pink up. I'll plant at least 1 cherry tomato, perhaps 2 if room.

A couple people on the Cooking Forum here recommended the scrap burying to me, having done it themselves. Avid gardeners. I always thought one needed a composter, and we've not got room. Most my cuttings/scraps are small, so they seem to be degenerating quickly and already attracting red wigglers. I'm staying away from any meat products, and very little coffee grounds which I still separate between scrap buries. This spring when I use the mini tiller, it all should be well composted by then. I have buried between rows too, but tiny piles. I keep track and will stop if I see I've run out of room. I've read not to overdo it and to watch for grubs.

Thanks for the link, Jamie, it's always nice to be invited! Sure are a lot of friendly people here. I'll jump in when I've a bit more time to devote so they won't think I'm a one hit visitor! Fortunately, it seems we've made it so no critters can get in... : )

I have not watched this presentation yet and am also looking forward to their final report:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeJqy-wwtmo

It's a summary of this season's results