Expansion plans (gardening)

im thinking of expanding the garden. maybe putting another 8 or so raised beds in the front yard. it’s really sunny in the front, no trees for shade or anything. I have a lot of free time to garden, I’ve allotted 4 hours a day Monday through Friday to go outside and garden. what should I grow? I decided to experiment and grow some sweet corn in a raised bed, and I will also have tomatoes like everybody else who gardens around here. I will have some culinary herbs, my greens for salads. some onion sets and a pepper patch.

in the expansion im thinking I would grow carrots, brussel sprouts, and turnips. maybe even potatoes, I don’t know if you can grow potatoes in a raised bed? why not. I would also like to grow some peas but I don’t yield much and they require some weeding so im not sure. I tried to grow beets one time unsuccessfully, maybe i’ll give that another go.

but really the most important thing is that my garden should look good in the yard

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has anybody ever had salsify? I never have. I thought about growing it in the past but never did. supposedly it tastes like oysters or something. in one or two raised beds I can grow salsify parsnips carrots and turnip.

o I should also try to grow broccoli. at home I use a lot of celery but it’s supposed to be difficult to grow so im just going to keep buying it.

I got that wrong, it’s scorzonera that tastes like oysters. for some reason I was thinking salsify, I’ve not had either vegetable personally.

Potatoes will grow in a raised bed but a box is better. You can get 50 pounds from a potato box.

I grew oregano on the border of my old garden at my old house. I have some mint here.

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good to know i’ll look into that. I planted potatoes in the ground once and just mounded them up.

we also have some mint growing on the property, but I don’t ever use it. will probably try to grow oregano for the first time this season.

http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/14721/build-your-own-potato-growing-box

Maybe look into berries for a permanent feature. Raspberries are expensive at the store but easy to grow. I have some maple leaf rasperries which are a late setting one. The fruit is big and velvety, very fragile. Since all rasperries are fragile you can’t get the best flavors at the store. Black raspberries are super flavorful.

Grapes are good, fast growers. I accidentally killed mine.

Chamomile is an easy grower and pretty. It is easy to harvest for tea. It also makes a good skin rub if you soak the flowers in oil in a sunny spot for weeks. The chemicals make it a relaxant and healing rub.

Basil is super easy to grow if you like the flavor.

Borage is really yummy. It tastes like cucumber. The fuzzy leaves make a neat texture for eating. It can go crazy, though. Pretty flowers that are blue and star shaped.

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Raspberries and blackberries grow wild in WV.

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They grow wild in NY, too. But if you plant them and put bird nets over then you can get lots more.

I used to pick a lot of huge blackberries in NC.

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yeah I have some raspberries over at mom and dad’s house. eventually I would like to have 30-50 raspberries and blackberries. also I planted some blueberries but I don’t think we have the soil ph to support them. it’s an experiment. there are things you can add like sulfur to amend the soil but I never have. the blueberries produced fruit the first year after I purchased them from the garden center but didn’t the second year. im going to wait and see what they do this year before planting anymore. most likely it will just be blackberries and raspberries i’ll have on hand.

the raspberries I have are very healthy and don’t need a soil amendment. I have to confess I didn’t even eat any of the berries last year. I’ve read the leaf is good for nursing and pregnant mothers to nourish the stomach in a tea. also they use the leaf in herbal smoking mixtures.

im thinking of putting in some table grapes over at mom and dads also, if they’ll let me. I have to prove to them that they wont go neglected by doing a good job on my current garden.

did a little bit of research and decided over at my place I might put in some arctic kiwi. they are little cold hardy (down to -20f) kiwi with no hair and they fruit in the fall giving me a late source of fruit. I will probably trellis those in the front if I think they’ll look good out in the yard.

I gave my blueberries coffee grounds and they loved it. Until my dog ate the bush. Big dummy.

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Wow. I never thought of that. That they grow wild in NY. I guess when you think of ny you think of nyc. It’s cool that you know so much about plants.

It’s a hobby. I have been into wild medicinal herbs and wild edibles since I was about 8.

And I thought the same about NY until I traveled through. It’s actually far more rural stuff in NY. Lots of farms. I live in the mountain regio. Of Western NY, Souther. tier near PA.

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I am going to be having some garden space for growing veg this year. I am getting in touch with the landscapers at the moment to have a 2 tier wall built in my garden and I am reserving the bottom tier for growing veg. I was thinking starting off with something simple like cucumbers.

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