Hello Fellow Garden Planners! As promised in my last post, I said I would share a list of the seeds I will be planting and why we chose those particular seeds. I have to WARN you… this list is HUGE!! I have decided to leave tomatoes for a post of their own. We grow over 25 varieties of tomatoes and may be a teeny bit obsessed with heirloom tomatoes. We plant over 1/4 acre of gardens in a 3B zone and we plant a huge variety of produce for many different reasons. Please do not get overwhelmed with my list and think that you have to plant such a variety to be successful. You may want to plant only 1 type of each vegetable or only 1 type of a few vegetables and that is TOTALLY OK! We currently plant such a variety so that over time we can choose our favorites and the types that grow best in our area and narrow down the list. We have a family of 4 that we are feeding. Our daughter is in college so we are providing for 2 households. We are trying to figure out exactly how much produce our family needs to get through an entire year on our home grown produce alone, while also working towards a market garden. Fingers crossed this is the year we are successful with that! Just like everything else we do at our farm, long term we also need everything we do to be as sustainable and economical as possible. A lot of thought, planning and preparation goes into everything we do because of that.

Beans. Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat…. I mean let’s be real. Beans are sooooo good for you! Even if they can make you a bit musical. Two years ago I spent months and months and months pouring over any piece of information I could on planning your garden and how to grow a garden for long term, year round supply and storage. Beans are a natural choice, especially when it comes to storage. Last year we had a particularly wet, cold year and our beans came ripe at a really weird time. We didn’t have time to deal with most of them so we blanched what we could and before it froze my husband pulled the plants and put them in our garage on tarps to dry. He (he really is a saint) then harvested them into containers once they were dry. I did shell and dehydrate some for our pantry, the rest we have saved to replant this year and try again. I had also learned about the three sisters method last year. This method is for companion planting corn, squash and beans together. It was developed by the Iroquois people. I bought the seeds but did not get the plan fully in place last year. I will be trying again this year. Stay tuned! How many beans do you plant? A 10 foot row of bush beans will grow approximately 8lbs of beans. It is a recommended guideline that you plant 4 to 8 plants of each variety of bean per person. For a family of 4 we will be planting 32 plants of each bean at a minimum. Remember, we always go with the higher average because we hope to have extra for gate sales.

• Golden Butter wax (BC)- yellow bush bean. Early producer. Last summer I ate these guys like crazy right off the plant! Perfect canner and freezer.
• Slippery Silks (BC)- so pretty! Dark pink pods with dark pink beans inside. They are great fresh or dried.
• Red Swan Beans (BC)- sweet, tender pink beans. Delicious fresh out of the garden.
• Jacob’s Cattle Bean (BC)- these beans are very versatile and can be used for baking, soups and even fresh as a snap bean.
• Good Mother Stallard Pole Bean (BC)- a good shelling bean. Excellent for baked beans!
• Blue Goose Cow Pea (BC)- a very old southern bean. I am not sure how well they will grow here but going to try them out!
• Lentil Bean (BC)- so… I’m pretty sure when I ordered these beans they were actually called Lazy Housewife beans or something like that. I thought it was comical. That is not what the package reads though so I guess we will throw them in the ground and see what happens.

Beets. Beets are one of my very favorite vegetables. We eat them fresh, canned, frozen, pickled and even in relish. We eat both the beet tops when fresh and the roots. Our garden always has a minimum of 3 full rows of beets and we run out every year. How many should you plant? A 10 foot row of beets typically provides 10lbs of produce. I plant 40 foot rows, 2 rows is not enough to feed our family fresh and preserved beets through the year. If we plant three rows of beets again this year we will harvest approximately 120lbs of beets.

• Chiogga Beets (WC) – candy cane striped. Pretty. Mild flavor. These have not always been successful for us. Some years they are very rooty and woody.
• Red Ace (WC) – these are an early season beet and are great for pickles!
• Touchstone Gold Organic (WD)- early golden beet. Tolerant to disease. Golden beets are my favorite. They have a cleaner taste. Not as “earthy” as a red beet.
• Boldor (WD)- Another Golden Beet. Brighter color than the touchstone. Again, disease resistant.
• Kestrel Hybrid (WD) – this red beet is new to us this year but reviews say it can be planted in any growing season and is a great storage beet.

Broccoli. I am planting a simple McKenzie seed broccoli found at the local hardware store. I love broccoli but limit the amount of it that I consume for personal health reasons. The seed I have purchased has a “natural” coating on it that worries me a little. If we decide to plant more broccoli next year I will look to find heirloom seeds instead. A 10 foot row of broccoli will yield about 7lbs. Because we do not eat a lot of broccoli we will only be planting 20 to 40 feet of broccoli this year. We will likely plant extra to make sure we have a sufficient harvest in the event that some of the seed does not come up.

Brussel’s Sprouts. Ok, full disclosure. I used to HATE Brussel’s Sprouts. Just like so many other people. One winter evening my husband and I drove to Linden to a local restaurant for their Christmas dinner special. They served these Brussel’s sprouts that were out of this world! I was so obsessed with them that I have made it my mission to recreate the way they were cooked myself. I actually even considered calling the restaurant and saying I’d had an allergic reaction to them so I needed to know the ingredients to tell the hospital. I am not a dishonest person, so instead I have agonized over trying to figure it out on my own. I think I have it pretty darn close. At least, it is now a favorite side dish in our house. There really are not a lot of choices on the market for Brussel’s sprouts seeds. We are planting both Long Island improved (HHS) and Groninger (BC). In the past I have purchased Long Island Improved bedding out plants and they have grown well. Last year, the cabbage moths were a terror and were hard on our sprouts. This year we will be looking for solutions to that. Brussel’s Sprouts will yield 3-5lbs of sprouts per 10 foot row. We have planted 3 plants per person the last few years. Last years harvest was a bit smaller due to the cabbage moths. The year before was much better.

Cabbage. Like I mentioned. Last year the cabbage moths were a terror. Because of that we were not terribly successful with our cabbage. This year we will plant the early season Golden Acre cabbage (BC) as well as the fall Brunswick cabbage (BC). We are looking into a netted row cover for our vulnerable crops. Having the ducks in this area of our garden may also be an option. We definitely need to complete further research here. Cabbage will provide 10-25lbs in a 10 foot row depending on the type of cabbage you plant. You may want to really think about what you will be using your cabbage for before going to all the work growing it. Will you make sauerkraut, or cabbage rolls, do you have a place to store it? Are you growing some for your chickens as a boredom buster?

Carrots. Our whole family loves carrots! We love all kinds of carrots. Fresh ones, cooked ones, pickled ones, carrot juice, carrot cake….. I have spent the last few years trying to figure out how to best store carrots. Every fall, we dig up our carrots and within a few days they start to go rubbery. I don’t really know what I do wrong. We cut off the growing end, remove the dirt once it is dry, store them in our cold fridge… nothing works. Last year we decided to pressure can 52 jars of carrots so that we would ensure we had carrots every week at least once. This year I think I will try packing them in sand or saw dust. I was also extremely particular on seed selection this time around. Choosing both fresh and long term storage types. What do you do to store your carrots? Carrots will produce 1lb per foot planted. I have read that you should plant 30 plants per person? I’m not sure what to recommend for you here. I plant two, 40 foot rows and we always compost some because they go rubbery. Really frustrating. This year I WILL have success! This is one of my main garden goals for the year.

• Purple Haze Hybrid (WD)- an imperator type carrot. These are a long deep purple carrot with a bright orange center. I tend to lean towards dark purple/ black/ blue colored vegetables when I can for an extra boost of anthocyanins. The health benefits of these vegetables are like super hero’s! They are rated as a storage carrot as well.
• Royal Chantenay (WD)- a heavy rooted carrot that is good for clay soil. Our garden has a bit higher clay content so this carrot seems a good choice. They are also supposed to be great fresh or stored.
• Yellowstone Organic (WD)- honestly I chose this carrot to add some color to our carrot sticks.
• Danvers (WD)- a shorter, broader carrot that is rated for good winter storage.
• Berlicummer II (WD)- berlicummer type carrots are not meant for storage. They are a fresh carrot and are excellent juicing carrots.
• Cosmic Purple (BC)- same characteristics of a purple haze carrot. Cosmic purple carrots grow better in the spring or fall however. They do not like hot temperatures.
• Baltimore Hybrid (WD)- early maturing berlicummer type carrot. I have selected this variety in hopes we can eat fresh carrots earlier in the year and save our storage type carrots for fall harvesting.

Cauliflower. In the era of gluten free eating cauliflower has become one of the trendiest vegetables on the market! My family does have an issue with gluten so the possibility of growing our own cauliflower and being able to preserve it is a huge draw! Cauliflower has a few odd things to be aware of though. Cauliflower is prone to both worms and sunburn! Yes, that’s right, I said sunburn! You can protect your cauliflower from sunburn by keeping the white heads covered with the green leaves or a floating row cover. We will protect our cauliflower from worms along with the Brussel’s sprouts and cabbages. Because we have so many uses for cauliflower I have chosen 4 varieties in the hopes that some are successful. Cauliflower is also a cool season crop that does not like the hot summer days of August.

• Durgesh 41 (BC)- this type comes to us from India. It is a great producer that withstands heat better than other types. The leaves are larger and naturally shade the bright white heads to protect from sunburn.
• Rober (BC)- known for it’s reliability, durability and weather adaptability.
• Purple of Sicily (BC)- Purple Italian cauliflower that is insect resistant. Cooks to a bright green color!
• Amazing Cauliflower (BC)- rumored to be the “cauliflower for dummies” type of cauliflower. They say if you have ever had trouble growing cauliflower in the past, this is the type for you. I’ll be sure to let you know!

Corn. Corn is a tricky one. As most of us know, corn is highly genetically modified and not a very popular crop these days for a multitude of reasons. Due to a gluten issue in our house, I have a desire to grow flour corn as well as it is honestly my very favorite vegetable. We have bought corn at the local farm stand the last few years and I have blanched and froze it myself. I have been planting corn here at home but use it mostly as a windbreak for my gardens. We DO NOT feed corn to our chickens because some of our family does have a sensitivity to corn. We have found that corn and soy do come through in the eggs and make them undigestible for some of our family and customers. I have chosen 2 triple sweet varieties this year called Alto hybrid (WD) and Honey Select Hybrid (WD). Sadly I have not found an heirloom sweet corn that is truly a sweet corn. I have some fun corn varieties as well like pink popcorn and painted mountain corn from Bakers Creek that we will plant in our flower beds for flour and decoration. Corn has to be planted in blocks and different types cannot be planted together. We will be planting 1 block of 1 type in each of our gardens and following the three sisters method.

Cucumbers. To be honest, I end up buying my pickling cucumbers from the local Hutterite colony every year. I am not sure what I do wrong, but I never seem to be successful with the type of cucumber I choose. I really do not have a reason for the types I have chosen below, other than they are different than the ones I have failed with in the past. If you have recommendations for growing cucumbers I would love to hear all about it in the comments! A 10 foot row is supposed to produce 12 lbs of cukes. Because I have ordered pickling cucumbers in the past from the colony, I know that 50lbs of cucumbers did roughly 30 quarts of pickles. I am going to plant 2- 40 foot rows in the hopes we harvest 100lbs of cucumbers to pickle.

• Beit Alpha (BC)- recommended zone 4-12. Not bitter, thin skin, great for salads or pickling.
• Chicago pickling (BC)- reviews say these are successful in Canadian climates. Prolific grower.
• National Pickling Cucumber (WD)
• Eureka Hybrid (WD)- small, dwarf plants, main season variety.

Leafy Greens. We plant a wide variety of leafy greens. I choose bib and buttercrunch lettuces because I find them less bitter. We plant rainbow swiss chard and spinach, although spinach seems to bolt very quickly. I have not had a lot of luck with kale, although I plant it every year. This year we have bits of leftover seeds from all our previous greens that we will plant and see what happens.

Onions. I normally buy whatever sets I can find at the nursery as I have been very unsuccessful starting my own from seed. I know when to admit defeat. Although, I would like to continue trying to start my own. I buy a mix of yellow, white and purple. Last year we planted about 200 sets and it was NOT enough. This year we will double it.

Parsnips. Not much to say about parsnips. Baked parsnip fries are the bomb though! We are trying out albion hybrids (WD) this year.

Peas. As a young girl I remember sitting cross legged in the dirt in the garden, with my Mom’s largest Tupperware container picking peas. We would fill every large cake container and bowl my Mom had. It would take all afternoon to harvest the peas, at least once a week. Then we would cart them all onto the deck and sit in the shade with a glass of goodhost iced tea while we shelled them. I am not sure how my Mom could grow peas so well, but I sadly can not. I have yet to find a variety that produced abundantly and made me buy them again. We try at least 2 new varieties every year. This year we are trying 2 new types, 1 we have grown before and will throw some seed we saved from last year in a row for good measure.

• Early Freezer 680 (WD)- this early pea is supposed to be tolerant to both cool weather and heat. It is known to be a heavy producer. We are really relying on the reviews of this pea.
• Lincoln (WD)- we have grown this homestead pea in the past and it was one of the better producing types we grew.
• Grundy-Perfect Arrow (WD)- William Dam seeds boasts these peas are their best main season pea. Again, they are supposed to be tolerant to heat and cold and are great fresh and frozen. Fingers crossed this is our year for peas!

Peppers. As you will read in my next post, we plant A LOT of tomatoes. We use those tomatoes to make a truckload of salsa. We try to grow everything we can in our garden that is needed to make our salsa. The peppers we choose start there.

• lemon spice jalapeno (BC)- sunny yellow pepper. A little spicy and a little hint of fruity. Great addition to salsa and to your container garden!
• tam jalapeno (BC)- milder heat. Grows green to red.
• California Wonder Bell Pepper (HHS)- easy to grow, reliable, standard green pepper.
• King of the North Pepper (HHS)- shorter season pepper that thrives in cooler summers. Heavy yielding.
• Lipstick Pepper (BC)- super sweet pimiento type pepper.
• Sweet Chocolate Pepper (BC)- an early Northern growing pepper the color of cherry Cola!
• Anaheim pepper (WC)- this pepper is why we try and grow so many different types. It is a mild roasting pepper and a main ingredient in our salsa. We have only been able to find it in 1 grocery store though and it is an hour’s drive from us. Not very practical!
• Chocolate Beauty Pepper (WC)- another chocolate brown pepper that draws in crowds at markets.

Potatoes. I have actually been replanting my own potatoes for the past 2 years. I know we plant Caribe and russet potatoes but I am not sure what the names of the others are. Caribe are my favorite! They were developed in Alberta and are a purple skinned, white flesh potato. They have a think skin and you would expect them to not store well but they are our best storage potato. I find that they are extremely difficult to find as seed though. Last year we were working on an area of our garden that was “hot”. The year before my husband had tilled in some fence posts and that made a hot spot in our garden. We threw potatoes in the hot spot to see what they would do. The plants came up and burned up. However, the second year we planted potatoes there they grew like crazy!! Hoping that this year we have fixed the issue and can plant normally again. We will still be very cautious what we plant there though.

Radishes. I am not totally sold on radishes but my husband loves them! Both of my children have a love of all things spicy so I am sure this will become a vegetable fave for them as well! I have begun pinning recipes on Pinterest and will be planting them this year in earnest as they are one of the earliest fresh veggies to be harvested. Some varieties can be harvested in as few as 21 days and recent research I have been doing says they are a great cover crop for hard or weedy soil as well. I have a few spots that I may try this on this year. The decision will then be whether to harvest or till them under. Their large tap roots break up the soil deeper to allow better water absorption and they supress weed growth. May be a great tip for those of you, like Kathy that are planting a new garden space this year.

• Round Black Spanish Winter Radish (HHS)- spicy, black fleshed radish. Excellent keeper. Grows to 3-4″ and can be eaten either cooked or raw.
• Giant of Sicily (BC)- 2″ round summer radish. Comes from pure Italian seed. I am a sucker for Italian anything because my husband comes from an Italian background. This radish has excellent online reviews as well.
• Easter Egg (WC)- a mix of 6 different radishes. Can be planted both in spring and fall. Tip: DO NOT eat radishes once they have bolted.
• Easter Basket Mix (BC)- a fun mix of 15 different types. Great for early spring planting.

Squash. Growing up I was not a huge fan of squash. My Mom would plant zucchini and have to force feed it to us. That is, unless it was in chocolate cake! My children have a strange obsession with squash though and always have. We have started to grow it the last few years and I am finding that we all quite enjoy it and there are so many different ways to cook it. Spaghetti squash lasagna is a family favorite! Squash are always super easy to save seeds from year to year. Do not plant too many plants! They are prolific plants and can overwhelm you with produce.

• Luffa Gourd (BC)- to date I have not been successful in growing luffas. I do have a plant in my tower garden currently and hope that we will be able to harvest from it. I will keep you updated. If we are successful we will turn the sponges into homemade luffa soaps.
• Kakai (BC)- This compact pumpkin type squash boasts hulless seeds that are PERFECT for roasting.
• Golden Zucchini (BC)- a bright yellow summer zucchini with a softer flesh. Not a good storage zucchini. Best eaten fresh or frozen.
• Ronde Di Nice zucchini (WC)- these French zucchinis are small and round. They are perfect for container gardening and perfect “stuffers” in the kitchen!
• Yellow Scallop Squash (BC)- possibly not the best squash to grow in my zone. Trying them again this year. Two years ago the plants were huge but the squash was late to appear. We are trying them again because they were delicious!!
• Cocozella di Napoli zucchini (BC)- long zucchini with an early harvest date. Best harvested small. Pretty striped skin that gets extremely hard if left in storage for long at a larger size.
• Black Beauty Zucchini (BC)- early grower. Reviews say this zucchini is not a good storage vegetable but we grew them quite large and had no problem storing them. Great grated and baked into cakes, loaves or spiraled for noodles.
• Blue Hubbard/ Green Hubbard (HHS)- the green Hubbard is the original hubbard squash. Both grow to an impressive large size (over 10 pounds) and are the preferred winter storage squash. This is our first year growing them, they were chosen though because we were looking for an over-winter storage squash that we could still eat “fresh” without having to process. They are supposed to make great soups!

I know I have given you a TON of information here and you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to comment below. I am by no means a professional and I can only share with you what I have learned through my experiences. Hopefully something I have shared here can help you in your garden planning and planting adventure!

If you are looking for a garden plan that is a bit more laid back and not so “planned” check out the approach my Good friend Kathy from Joyful Harvest Homestead took here.