Is anyone thinking about their garden yet?

Ruth n Jersey

Ruth n Jersey

Well-known Member
Location
Northern New Jersey
I see that the seeds are out in the stores in New Jersey. I bought some that I know I will need. I read an article in the paper about the climate change and how it is affecting our gardens. They recommended putting in some very early maturing tomato plants in my area. I think this might be a good idea. Years ago when I was growing up in the 50's we had tomatoes on the table for the 4th of July. In the early 70's I would get the bulk of the crop on Labor Day and would can them. My canning days are over and so are the tomatoes by Labor Day. They recommenced two varieties that mature early. Abraham Lincoln, and Atkinson. Both mature in 70 days. I guess I'll have to get them online, I don't see them in the stores. I'll start them in the house and see what happens. What are you planning for your garden this year?
 

Planning? I'm in it every day if temp is 60F or more; it's where to find me even if the sun isn't out. Don't do veggies, though. Only flowers. Right now there are pansies, violas, snapdragons, dianthus, ornamental cabbage and kale. Last fall I planted four different kinds of bulbs and didn't mark them. Oops. There are buds on some, and I have no idea what they'll be:)

ETA: And daffodils. How could I forget the daffodils? Lots of them blooming, lots more forming buds, some about ready to open. There are daffodils and flowering cherry trees in blooms everywhere in our subdivision.
 
Well, actually, not a garden but I was thinking of putting a couple flower boxes on the new ramp. Just trying to decide how to attach them, and what I would plant in them. I have found that in my soil, vegies do not do well, as there is a lot of clay. Well, I take that back, tomatoes do OK, but you can only have so many tomatoes.
 

I haven't planted a garden in years now Ruth, but I always had good luck with Early Girl Tomatoes, I guess they're probably popular where you live too? I never started from seed, just small seedling baby plants from the local nursery https://bonnieplants.com/product/early-girl-tomato/
Early Girl Tomato Early Girl hybrid is the first slicing tomato to ripen each season. It's well known in many regions of the country.

Early Girl Tomato



  • Light: Full sun
  • Fruit size: 6 to 8 oz
  • Matures: 50 days after planting
  • Spacing: 36 inches apart
  • Plant size: 6 to 8 feet
  • Plant type: Indeterminate
When gardeners talk about the “first” tomatoes, Early Girl is always there. This may be the most all-round popular hybrid to satisfy that itch for the first fresh tomato of the season. Use them for slicing on a place, into a salad, or on a sandwich. This a proven all-round early hybrid.

Use it to jump start your harvest. Early Girl bears lots of fruit for early harvest, but because the vines are indeterminate, they continue producing through summer. In our Alabama test garden, where conditions are ideal and the growing season is long, we harvest an average of 300 tomatoes from each Early Girl plant! Many gardeners plant it again late in the summer so that it will produce a huge fresh crop of “fall tomatoes” quickly before frost.

Resistant to verticillium wilt (V) and fusarium wilt races 1 and 2 (F).
Some Bonnie Plants varieties may not be available at your local stores, as we select and sell varieties best suited to the growing conditions in each region.
Click to expand...

 
I haven't been able to have a flower garden for many years now, but I put some pots on my small deck and have a large planter on the railing now. I haven't thought yet about what to get this year. Its only sunny until early afternoon but begonias did well in the planter last year and coleus does well as did an asparagus fern.

Some people were hanging those upside down tomato plants in the front of their condos, but the association banned them. If I could grow tomatoes, I would try heirlooms; they have so much flavor. I usually put a large pot of basil on the step in front where it's sunny all day.
 
Pots sound interesting, especially since I cannot get down on the ground any more. How do tomatoes do in pots? ​A friend did the upside down ones a couple times, and had bad luck each time.
 
I used big plastic pots for several years Marie, outdoors where I would usually plant in the ground. The tomatoes did great, plus I didn't have to fight the weeds all the time.
 
Tomatoes in pots are tricky, Marie. I never knew anyone who tried having had much success. Except for SeaBreeze, lol. Most varieties have enormous root systems, are heavy feeders and need huge amounts of water. Try to find a variety with a smaller root system maybe. I don't know if the cherry or grape tomatoes require the same as larger fruits, but I love those tiny grape tomatoes.

Oh, right, getting up again, lol I know what you mean. I put smaller pots up on those metal plant stands.
 
Hi @Ruth n Jersey, I'm in Florida now but will be back in New Jersey (Passaic County) by the beginning of May.
We've been growing hot peppers for the last few years with good years and bad.

We've been trying to find and grow "Italian Long Hots".
You see them on the menu in lots of restaurants in NJ but go to a nursery and you can't find plants to grow.

I've tried a bunch of different "long" and "hot" peppers but they're not what I'm looking for.
I finally found "Italian Roasters" at Richfield Farms in Clifton, NJ.

It's exactly the pepper I want.
Right size, shape, taste, and heat. :)

Maybe some tomatoes this year to go with the fresh basil and fresh oregano we grow in posts.
We have a tiny garden but we enjoy what we grow.
 
Oh this post warms my heart I just knew there would be gardeners here. Yes I am thinking of my garden, in fact I have some things already sown. I am fanatic seed saver I will hold my head up and admit it, I have several hundred different varieties of tomato seeds and swap all over the world, we won't even mention the beans and I shall completely forget the squash. I have been downsizing my collection over the last few years because I could never grow them all, then along comes someone who offers me a variety that sounds interesting and I stub my toe all over again.

Radish Rose, I grow all my tomatoes in pots every year as long as you follow a few rules it is fine and if you want to make it easy then get the new Dwarf Project tomato seeds, there have been quite a few varieties released now and they don't grow very tall. The Dwarf Tomato Project is a fascinating read by the way it is on the net Craig Lehoullier is the US side of the project, with the help of volunteer growers all over the globe. It started in 2006..quite the read.

The many seed catalogues I get have been plopping through the letterbox for several weeks now, a super reminder that Spring is just around the corner.

SLS, I think it is Farmer Phils that put out Italian Long Hot Pepper seeds I think they are what you are looking for.


I would just love to connect to anyone here who loves gardening, actual I should say veggie gardening as I don't do so much flowers.
 
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RadishRose said:
Tomatoes in pots are tricky, Marie. I never knew anyone who tried having had much success. Except for SeaBreeze, lol.
Click to expand...

And I have a black thumb Rose, almost every plant I have dies, so when something survives I celebrate. I only grew Early Girls and Cherry Tomatoes in the pots, so maybe since they were smaller varieties they didn't need a very large root system.
 
I'm looking forward to this years garden. Generally, I don't plant until the first week or two in May. I tested the soil in my garden and it is a bit too acidic, so I put some lime on it this past Fall, and it should be ready for tilling anytime we get a few days of dry weather in April. I usually plant cucumbers, cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, green beans, lettuce and cauliflower. Most years, I have way too much for us, so the neighbors, and the Senior Center in town get some. I like to play outside in the yard and garden, and it's a nice bonus to get plenty of fresh vegetables that are truly Organic.
 
My fingers are itching to get in the dirt...

Count me in as a hardcore veggie gardener for over 50 years! I have Master Gardener and Master Food Preserver certifications from the state of Oregon and grew up on a farm where we had a huge garden every year -- canning, dehydrating, and freezing the bounty. I save seeds, too, and will try some new varieties in my raised beds and big pots, along with my old standbys here in the maritime climate of the Pacific Northwest. It's always a nice feeling to be able to gift excess healthy produce to friends and neighbors. Saw the crocuses and daffodils sending up shoots in yards on my walk this morning, so it won't be long now...
 

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