Soon as the calendar rolls around to March I get stoked for the upcoming garden season. I know our season technically started last fall when we tilled the entire garden, and planted the garlic (48 cloves!) Every year we tweak the plans and the rows just a bit. We have three rows, plus a row of tomatoes. Everything should have a nice area to grow in with lots of light. One fewer bed this year hopefully means less delicate weeding.

I have had the best success with seed packets from Burpee. I’ve tried a variety of others, but the only seeds that reliable grow for me/us are from Burpee. Your growing conditions and attention to detail (or no detail – darwin gardeners) will vary. You can find many of these seeds in your local stores, but this year we chose to order seeds and plants online directly from Burpee – which you can find below.

Here’s where we start, and not much change in scenery between fall and spring.

fallgarden2

(This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a few cents  if you make a purchase using this link, but I don’t know who you are!)

Carrots – GONE

First is no carrots this year. It’s a fun and foolproof crop, but it’s our most time intensive crop with thinning, weeding, and cleaning. When you don’t thin,  you get a ton of runt sized baby carrots.

Parsnips – GONE

Parsnips were lots of work last year, for not much return. I think it was problems with the seeds, followed by maintenance. Parsnip seeds take for-ev-er to sprout. You can plant radishes in the rows (fast growing), or start the seeds indoors – we did neither.

Tomatoes – BACK AGAIN

In 2013, I planted six tomato plants with pretty good luck, but then some blight hit and we were done with tomatoes in August. In 2014, tried five tomato plants together in a single row, and for a variety reasons it did not work out too well. (Weather and bad plants mostly.)

This year we’re still going to plant five tomato plants: three Amish Paste plants and two Steak Sandwich plants, but they’ll be in two rows sharing space near the garlic. (When the garlic comes out, the basil seeds go in. ) I’ll miss the small grape tomatoes, but these two types of tomato plants are a bit more in line with our tomato consumption. Less cutting for sure!

BEETS – BACK AGAIN

Beets (Detroit Dark Red) are coming back again because I love them so much! The whole plant is tasty and I can’t give them up. We are planting a bit less, but there really comes a point where you do get tired of eating beets and there’s only so much you can saute, chop, freeze or puree. (Sometimes the voles cull the crop too. Sad faces.)

LETTUCES – BACK AGAIN

Salad greens are a go for this year as well. I think we finally narrowed down the flavors we like and went with a Looseleaf Blend. The blend I picked by Burpee has Black-Seeded Simpson, Lolla Rossa, Green Ice, Buttercrunch and Mighty Red Oak. It has a lot of mild tasting salad varieties, with a great variety of color and texture.

GARLIC – BACK AGAIN

I can’t get enough of the garlic. The garlic scapes in June are delicious, and we’ve just about finished eating the garlic we harvested last year. Hopefully we can share more of our harvest with friends and family this year! Find a supplier local for your area to get the best garlic for your growing conditions. Totally worth it!

JOSTABERRY – NEW

Outside the garden we decided to give berries a chance. We toyed with the idea of berries last year, but could not commit on a space or variety. While looking through the plant catalogs a few weeks ago, we found a plant called Jostaberry.  We instantly fell in love with the gooseberry-black currant variety for a few reasons: Josta was our favorite drink from the 90’s, it’s German, and it just sounds cool and different!

It ships as a bare root plant with the roots loosely packed in some wood shavings. I kept it in the garage a few days while the weather warmed, but I would say Burpee is pretty good with shipping when appropriate for your zone.

jostaberry

ZUCCHINI – NEW

Our kids go crazy over zucchini in all its forms, so we’re going to try and grow our own this year. We have a whole row dedicated to this experiment. I’m hoping this bush type variety of summer squash will be easier to maintain. Looking forward to lots of grilled, sauteed, shredded, and baked zucchini. I’m also prepared to play the role of a bee and pollinating plants where needed.

https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/fallgarden2.jpg?fit=768%2C875&ssl=1https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/fallgarden2.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1thesugarpixieGardeninggarden 2015,garden planning,gardening,jostaberry,seeds,zone 6Soon as the calendar rolls around to March I get stoked for the upcoming garden season. I know our season technically started last fall when we tilled the entire garden, and planted the garlic (48 cloves!) Every year we tweak the plans and the rows just a bit. We...Misadventures and fun in the kitchen and beyond