2025 Garden

I’m starting to plan what I want to plant this year.
I’m wondering what your favorite kind of tomato is to grow?

I like Roma’s and I will plant an early girl or some other slicer. Going to cut back on the maters this year. I had eight containers of maters last year. The deer nipped them early but they recovered. The day I was going to pick the majority of them the deer got all of them the night before!

We do a container garden up at the lake. We have a bucket caddy on wheels that holds eight buckets. It’s close to the cabin so for four years the deer never bothered it. They got a little braver last year. I’m going to have to come up with a fence system around it this year. I really had success with potatoes in grow bags last year. Deer never bothered them and they were only ten feet away from the tomatoes. I started with six bags last year and already got six more for next year. Ten gallon ones work the best. You have enough room for 3 or 4 potato plants and they aren’t so big and heavy that you can still move them around.

I’m moving to mostly metal raised beds this year. My ground sucks and I’m tired of fighting underground vining weeds, like wild grape and horsetail. I used some spiff points from work to order eight galvanized Hanover beds 72L x 35W x 22H. Going cost me some coin to fill them but they should outlast me. I know there will still be weeds, but at least there will be better dirt to grow in. I have two dozen 6gal grow bags that I use for peppers. I find that I can grow two hot pepper plants just fine in each one. I still haven’t found an always reliable tomato variety and I try a few new ones each year. Amish Paste seems to always do better than the rest.

Heirlooms are my favorite tomatoes, for eating raw or adding to a burger or sandwich. Roma’s are good for sauces/salsa. I haven’t started even thinking about the garden, but I buy started plants Memorial Day weekend.

Last year I did Roma and San Marzano. Towards the end of the season I was giving away 5 gallon buckets full. I will definitely cut back this year but keep those same varieties.

I only make pasta sauce and salsa. I do not like eating them outside of those two ways.
DT

dang Dt if had known that last years I would asked for some, I’m in Alex once a week generally.. oh well

I still have about 25 pounds of onions from last summer. All nice baseball sized.

These are the “Patterson” variety and all I plant are the plants, not sets. I usually plant 100 plants.

Tomatoes? I like Rutgers as a standard tomato. For sauce I like either the Roma or Marianna’s. The Mariannas are twice the size of Romas and have very few seeds. Two years ago I found four plants of the Rutgers Select and those suckers put out tomatoes that three or four would completely fill a quart jar with hardly any seeds or juice. Sure wish I could find a half dozen of those plants again.

I’m probably buying seed next week for the beans, lettuce and carrots and squash.

Not a fan of early season tomatoes – Early Girl, Big Early, etc. Mid-season have done well with Champion and Better Boy. Love heirlooms for late season – Boxcar Willie (one slice covers the entire BLT sandwich), Brandywine and Big Beef are favorites.

I’ve never used grow bags, but they look interesting.
Do grow bags have weep holes for heavy rains?
Do the black ones get too hot in the summer?
What makes a good or bad grow bag?

I’ve got raised beds, but critters are a still a problem. Last year they ate every lettuce plant down to the ground. I’m thinking of building little greenhouse type frames but covering them with small mesh chicken wire, I think they call it rabbit fence.

The grow bags I’ve seen are either black or green and have drainage holes in them so one has to be diligent on watering. The son in law has used them and hasn’t said anything negative about the black ones but I’d imagine that in direct sun the black may get pretty warm for roots.

When critters start focusing on my lettuce bed I take 36″ chicken wire and tent if over the row and stake it down. At the ends I set snares. That eliminates rabbits pretty much. When the lettuce is ready to pick its usually not bothered by the rabbits. Deer can be another issue as they’ll simple push the fencing off and dine.

Grow bags are a non woven fabric that seeps water and lets the roots breathe. The ones I have have no seep holes as the fabric naturally seeps water. I do not put them directly on the ground I put them on 12X12 patio blocks that have cross patterns in them to let the water drain off so the bottom of the grow bags does not sit and soak in a water puddle. Pallets or something along those lines would work just as well. Just keep them off the ground directly. By keeping them off the ground you lessen the chance of any ground bugs or weeds infiltrating in from the bottom.

My opinion has been that the black ones would get too hot in the summer but I have no proof of this. All of mine are colored. The new ones I got actually have a 6 inch by 6 inch flap on the side towards the bottom that is held by Velcro. So you can lift the flap and see how your potatoes are doing or actually stick your finger in there to check the moisture level or check the root system. They do need more attention from a watering stand point as most container gardens do. They are economical too I just got six bags for $20. Amazon of course.

I don’t have many deer or rabbits around but if you plant it they will come…

I use a 4′ high fence around my garden. The deer have not been ambitious enough to jump it. Racoons can climb fencing but they seem to stay out of my garden.

Tomatoes – for how many plants I had last year the production was quite low. Any one have any secrets to planting from seed? I try planting indoors from seed the last few years but they seem to grow a pretty thin stalks. I usually plant from seed as well as purchase some plants from a store.

San Marzanos, cherry tomatoes and Tomatillos for me.

A little bit of lettuce and cucumbers and some spuds in 5 gallon buckets.

Any suggestions on a tasty cherry tomato that produces a lot of fruit?

I tried a few last year that I wasn’t impressed with.

BigWerm wrote:

Heirlooms are my favorite tomatoes, for eating raw or adding to a burger or sandwich. Roma’s are good for sauces/salsa. I haven’t started even thinking about the garden, but I buy started plants Memorial Day weekend.

ditto

Since mine is in combination with field/ food plots, trying a few new things this year. I have a mix of wheat/grains I want to try. Amish woman down the road makes a variety of sourdough breads that they use a mix of grains in. Similair to the 12 grain bread in the stores, but sour dough and NO PRESERVATIVES.

I will be on raccoon patrol this summer. They basically destroyed all of my sweet corn last year. I have snow fence around the garden but that doesn’t stop them.
DT

Mike Schulz wrote:

dang Dt if had known that last years I would asked for some, I’m in Alex once a week generally.. oh well

I’ll let you know if I have excess this summer.
DT

deertracker wrote:

I will be on raccoon patrol this summer. They basically destroyed all of my sweet corn last year. I have snow fence around the garden but that doesn’t stop them.
DT

If raccoons are your problem, don’t put anything around your garden to try and deter them. It’s a waste of time. They are going to get over/through/under anything you put up if they want.

Use the dog proof foot traps (sorry I forget the correct name) with a marshmallow or egg in them. Wake up the next morning, have your coffee, then take a walk and go shoot whoever is caught. Rinse, repeat. It’s worked for us for decades having ~30 acres of sweetcorn planted by the leasers on our property with little raccoon damage.

thanks DT!!

deertracker wrote:

I will be on raccoon patrol this summer. They basically destroyed all of my sweet corn last year. I have snow fence around the garden but that doesn’t stop them.
DT

Multiple years ago we planted sweet corn. A day or 2 before some was ready to pick the racoons found the patch. A simple electric fence (like used for cattle) placed relatively close to the ground worked wonders for keeping the racoons out.

Yeah I think I am going to go with a solar powered electric fence controller. My only problem are deer. No coons and no rabbits and very few squirrels in our neck of the woods. Lots of predators.

buckybadger wrote:

Use the dog proof foot traps (sorry I forget the correct name) with a marshmallow or egg in them.

Are these traps the cylinders with the loop visible when the trap is not set?

Lately my in town garden has had more trouble with deer then rabbits. Was thinking about using 5 foot cattle panels for fence. Are they bendable?

I’ve been using 6g black grow bags since 2020. The fabric prevents them from getting rootbound. In a smooth pot, the roots will circle round and round and basically choke itself. You’ll see that with transplants from the garden center. When the tips of the roots reach the inside wall of the bag a process called “air pruning” happens and the tip of the root dies, but the rest of it is in good shape. They don’t have drain holes but do drain well. They sit on top of wood chips.

I mostly use them for hot peppers, and though I can’t say they’re any warmer than the ground, peppers seem to like it. Peppers don’t need nearly as much watering as tomatoes, so I only water about once a week, twice if it’s been very hot and dry. Your planting medium will dictate how well it holds moisture more so than drain holes. I used a few bags last year for cheery tomatoes and they did well, too. Super Sweet 100 tomatoes grew like weeds and I didn’t even stake them up.

Question for you gardeners…I am not a green thumb at all but we have a small raised garden. Unfortunately, the only space we have for it is mainly shaded as it’s under an oak tree.

What are some good options to grow that are ok with shade? Cucumbers seem to be ok but I’d like to switch it up a bit this year.

Any suggestions?

It depends on how many hours of sunlight are getting through. Some direct sun would be best. Most summer plants need 6-8hrs of sunlight per day. It doesn’t have to be continuous and some dappled sun is better than total shade but you can probably grow anything. You’d likely just get a better yield with more sun. Fungus, powdery mildew and disease love shady damp environments, so I’d look for disease resistant hybrids of whatever you want to try.

I know a guy who has lots of pine trees on his property. He rakes all the pine needles into a big pile in a semi shady spot. He puts seed potatoes in the pile of pine needles. His yield is unbelievable. And nice big taters too. I’d try it but I have no pines on my property.

JEREMY wrote:

Lately my in town garden has had more trouble with deer then rabbits. Was thinking about using 5 foot cattle panels for fence. Are they bendable?

The cattle/hog/handy panel that my local L&M or Tractor Supply sold are not bendable. The ones I installed around my garden were like 4ga or 6ga wire and had to cut with a cutoff wheel or grinder. They are about 48” to 50” tall and came in 16ft length. I have a raised garden and the panel sit above the raised bed so the top of the fence is about 60” off the ground and have kept the deer out.

Tractor supply is where i was gonna go. Guess I need to rethink my plan

Jimmy Jones wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
Use the dog proof foot traps (sorry I forget the correct name) with a marshmallow or egg in them.

Are these traps the cylinders with the loop visible when the trap is not set?

They’re a small cylinder afixed to a piece of chain that you stake into the ground. I’ve never had anything but my intended target trapped in one. They’re relatively cheap too

Ive caught squirrels, chipmunks, opossum, and 1 skunk in them so they do get more then coons. I could see a cat pawing the trigger up also but havent caught one.