This morning I woke up with one thing on my mind… getting my vegetable seed and fruit bushes ordered for next year. Maybe you think it’s a little to early to be thinking about next years garden, but I don’t because the best deals are NOW. Botanical Interests is offering free shipping on orders of $50 or more through December 23rd, and Raintree Nursery is running their 20% free bonus item deals through the end of the year.
Since I know I’ll start planting seeds in early January {I’m super nerdy like that} I wanted to have everything ordered and ready to go before The Girl comes home for winter break. That way I can enjoy the holiday season without having to stress about my seeds and plants arriving in time, especially since I’ll be starting from total scratch in 2015 {I like to start most of my seeds indoors under grow lights}. The plants and bushes will ship when it’s the appropriate time to plant in my area {I LOVE that!}
My current property has:
- Fruit Trees – 0
- Perennial Fruit {like blueberries, raspberries or strawberries} – 0
- Perennial Vegetables or Herbs – 0
Starting a garden from scratch might seem like a daunting task, but I’m looking forward to it. Because even though my garden will be much smaller than in recent years, I still plan on making it AWESOME. Ideally, I’d like to create a {much} smaller version of Thomas Jefferson’s garden at Monticello… meaning all the plants will be lined up in neat, OCD, little rows inside a giant rectangle. 🙂 🙂 🙂 Which is something I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do. And now I can. Just on a much smaller scale.
I’m also really looking forward to turning our back patio into a massive container garden as well. Once this remodel is over, I’ll be able to focus more on my yard and future garden projects, but first, I had to get those seeds and bushes ordered!
Here’s what I’ll be growing this year:
Tomatoes I will be growing in my garden next year:
- Pineapple Pole Tomatoes {gorgeous!!}
- Italian Roma {good for eating fresh and making sauce}
- Ace {for canning}
- Cherokee Purple {I grow these every year}
- Green Zebra {LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one}
- Sun Gold {My daughters favorite and great for snacking}
- Red and Yellow Pear {great for snacking and on salads}
- Black Krim {The HH’s favorite}
Beans I’ll be growing in my garden next year:
- Roma Bush Beans {great in marinara sauce}
- Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans {for the bean tepee}
- French Filet Beans {my husband’s favorite}
- Windsor Fava Beans {as a cover crop at the end of the season}
Peas I plan to grow next year:
- Sugar snap peas {for eating fresh}
- Snow peas {for stir fry}
- Green arrow peas {for shelling}
Beets, Turnips and Parsnips I will be growing in my garden next year:
- Bulls Blood Beets
- Early Wonder Beets
- Gourmet Blend Beets
- Purple Top White Globe Turnip
- All American Parsnip
Carrots I will be growing in my garden next year:
Cucumbers, and zucchini I will be growing in my garden next year:
Lettuce varieties I will be growing in my garden next year:
Onions, Artichokes, Cabbage, Broccoli and Cauliflower seeds I plan to sow next year:
- Green & Purple Artichokes { I had great success with these!}
- Chef’s Blend Cauliflower
- Broccoli Di Cicco
- Romanesco
- Broccoli Raab Rapini
- Purple Cabbage
- Chinese Cabbage
- Flat of Italy Red Onions
- Yellow Granex Onion Seeds
Kale, Swiss Chard, Spinach and Bok Choy seeds I plan to sow next year:
- Toy Bok Choy
- Monstrueux de Viroflay Spinach
- Bright Lights Swiss Chard
- Italian Lacinato Nero Toscana Kale {Chickens love it!} 😉
Herbs I will be growing in my garden next year:
- Custom Basil Blend
- Italian Genovese Basil {my favorite}
- Purple Basil
- Garlic Chives
- Cilantro
- Fennel Florence Finocchio
- Italian Dark Green Flat Parsley
- Broadleaf Sage
- English Thyme
- Common Oregano
Squash varieties I will be growing in my garden next year:
- Waltham Butternut
- Sweet Meat squash
- Burgess Buttercup squash
- Howden Pumpkins
- Sugar Pie Pumpkins
- Cinderella Pumpkins
Fruit Bushes and Plants I will be growing next year:
- Bluecrop, Bluegold and Sunshine Blueberries {I grew these at our last house}
- Cascade Delight Raspberries {I grew these at our last house too}
- Tri-Star Strawberries {my all time favorite strawberry}
Rhubarb, Purple Onion Bulbs and Horseradish will be purchased from the feed store once they become available. And fruit trees will be picked up in the spring.
Did I miss anything?
~Mavis
Mary says
Yea, I’m not the only one ordering seeds!!!!!
Cecily says
Are you getting more chickens? I’m asking because you are going to grow kale and I know it is your favorite vegetable ever (not!) 😉 My sister grows golden raspberries and she was picking berries until the end of October! For flavor, Reka is my all time favorite blueberry. If your daughter loves Sungold she should try Sunsugar. It is sweeter and richer in flavor than Sungold. I grew speckled hound squash for the first time this year and it made the most amazing “pumpkin” pie I’ve ever had. Enjoy creating your mini Monticello, I look forward to seeing your progress!
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Cecily, and no we are unable to have chickens in this neighborhood. 🙁
Jackie says
I am still reeling that you left the greenhouse!
ann in E. oregon says
Wow, Mavis! You truly are an inspiration to me (and many others, I am sure!). If I get a FRACTION of those things planted, let alone get them to grow, I will be SO happy! :-)) I love the Monticello garden look. I have a large rectangular space for my “garden of the future”, maybe I can work some straight rows into the plan. :-))
Traci says
Holy, Monticello, That is an impressive list. Although mostly familiar, I am going to look into a few of those. I was wondering if you have enough light and about the ‘rules’ for larger gardens in your new neighborhood. Can’t wait to see how it all comes together. Sorry about the chickens, if I wasn’t four hours away, I would barter eggs with ya.
Renay says
Well, being one for unsolicited advice…hahaha …and noticing you have a couple fir trees in your planting areas, may I suggest if you want more veggie/sun space, consider taking those down now. I say this because early on I had a tree that I wish I would have taken down (started to shade my whole front yard) and when I finally did, it was REALLY EXPENSIVE because it was so big. Just something to consider as these look small enough to take down on your own and cheap.
Trish K says
Uh, hello! There is no such thing as a bad time to buy seeds, order perennials, plan, live and breath a garden. I went to Pike Nursery last week with the intention of using a gift card. Sweet little gal at the register informed me I had $50 credit, my seeds were free and I need to buy $37 more by the end of the year. This was playing in the dirt credit. Nothing to do with my gift card. I didn’t realize that or I sure would have bought the giant bag of vermiculite I have been coveting, and still have gift card for more organic fertilizer and more seeds. There just is not a bad time to consider your next garden. EVER!
Jenny says
Can you remind me what your planting zone is again?
Mavis Butterfield says
8
Diane says
That a long list for such a smaller yard, with what looks like a lot less planting area! Are you taking out the lawn? I know that the hilly area will be pretty much filled with roots (I have evergreens!) close to the surface. Or, will you get lots and lots of stock tanks?
You had so much, so, so much more space before, but your list is still as long!
Did you get an in-ground fence installed to keep Lucy in the yard? The first thing I contracted for before I moved in was for new fences because of my dogs.
Peggy says
Sounds amazing! 🙂
sarah says
I just finished cleaning my garden, never mind think about next year. I’m a couple zones behind you so I think I still got some time. we also need to start a new area but gotta get some stumps out first. then build boxes, no big rows stuff here. I like boxes better for getting around and keeping little feet out(or animals)
Sally says
I have ordered so many seeds, and just found so many from the last few years. I will need to dig up more of my lawn just to just have the seeds! I don’t mind having less lawn.Banana squash and tomatillos were good last year. I regret not planting fruit trees my first year here. Atleast I have some elderberry,raspberry,and strawberries already.Counting the days till spring!
Jill says
Do you ever harvest seeds from the vegetables you planted the year before? If not, is there a reason who you shouldn’t? I was wondering because I’m on an extremely tight budget and buying enough variety isn’t really an option for me.
KAYTHEGARDENER says
I also like purple bush beans, since it is easy to spot them among the leaves. With our clay soil, I like Red Chantenay variety for carrots.
For pole beans, I like Chinese long beans — they grow about 10-12 feet long runners (weave them up poles 7 ft above ground then over on an arbor like arrangement. I pick them when they are about 9-12″ long. Their seeds also last about 4-6 years with good germination at the end of that time…