My 2025 Edible Garden Plan

Saturday, December 28, 2024

It is that time of year as winter is setting in and the dreary days seem endless; the time to dream of warm weather, spring breezes, and green things sprouting once again.  Can't you almost smell the fresh cut grass and turned earth?  

Every gardener looks forward to the spring growing season.  In the fall, we reflect back on what went well, not so well, what we want to learn more about over the gardening lull in winter, and sketch out our thoughts on next year's garden plan.  Then comes the seed catalogs as winter moves in.  Time to go back to that fall garden plan and get ordering the seeds to make it happen!

Reflections on the 2024 edible garden and the 2025 plan

My garden consists of four parts: the perennials that come back year after year in the same spots and pots, the self-seeders that pop up in different spots, the stand by annuals I plant every year, and the new varieties I try each year.

 

Perennials

The perennials in my garden are herbs (thyme, tarragon, oregano, garden chives, garlic chives, spearmint, lemon balm, horseradish), the vegetables (Egyptian walking onions, sweet Egyptian walking onions, potato onions, shallots, garlic, asparagus, sorrel, rhubarb, the fruits (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, Aronia bush, goji berry), and the flowers (daylilies, peonies, hydrangeas, daffodils, hellebore, surprise lilies, gladiolas, coreopsis, hollyhocks.

 

Self-seeders

 There are some self-seeders I can count on and others that are a nice surprise.  The ones guaranteed to pop up are zinnias, amaranths (Love Lies Bleeding and Chinese Bicolor), Cocks comb, carrots, celery, chard, Giant Leaf mustard, my purple sprouting broccoli, Hummingbird vine, Morning glory, Red Malabar spinach, and Giant Blue Feather lettuce.  I will also get different varieties of other lettuces popping up here and there and usually Chinese Hilton cabbage.

 

Stand bys

Pole Beans-Blauhilde purple snap beans, 1500  Year Old snap or shelled beans, Christmas speckles lima beans, Purple or Red Chinese Noodle beans, Urizun Japanese winged beans.  All but the winged bean will be in the garden bed.

Okra-Red Burgundy (2)

Tomato plants (10) -Italian Pear paste, Cherokee Purple, Chocolate Pear, Brandywine, an early variety and a fun one or two

Eggplant (3)-AO Daimura, Antigue or Rotanda Bianca or Rosa, Shiromaru or Amadea in pots

Cucumber (2) – bush varieties in garden bed

Summer squash-Trombetta since it is resistant to vine borer and squash bugs.

Winter squash (2) – Butternut from saved seed and a new one

Snow peas in pots with peppers and eggplants

Dragon Tail radish in pot by sprouting broccoli

Hilton Chinese cabbage (2 plants)

New Zealand in pot (1)

Lettuce (Royal Oakleaf, Grand Rapids, Butter King, Bronze Beauty, Yedikule, Red Sails and a couple new ones) and spinach in pots

Snow peas in pots with peppers and eggplants

Dragon Tail radish in pot by sprouting broccoli

Hilton Chinese cabbage (2 plants)

Greens that stay sweet in summer-Orach, New Zealand spinach in pot

Sweet and hot peppers-variety to make chili powder (3 plants), Jigsaw and Baklouti hot pepper plants, and 3 sweet pepper plants

Herbs-Dill, Basil (Nunum, Genovese, Cardinal), Cilantro, Lion's Ear, Rosemary, Parsley, Garden Sage, Chervil, Multicolor Sage, marjoram

Cantaloupe-Tigger melon

Flowers-zinnias, alyssum, marigolds, Cock's Comb, peach hollyhocks, blue morning glory, Love Lies Bleeding

 

New Ones

Greens-Purple Stardust Iceplant, Komatsuna, new lettuces (Marvel of Four Seasons, Hao Shan, Spotted Aleppo, Chadwick’s Rodan, Chinese Narrow Leaf?)

Onions-Australian Brown, New York Early, Rossa di Milano

Potatoes in the potato boxes - Yukon Gold, ones from saved seeds (yes, some potatoes actually develop seeds from their flowers)

Sweet potatoes-Purple, orange and white variety pack from Southern Exposure

Dwarf Tamarillo-small orange fruits

Giant Red celery

Pumpkin-Ayote Green Flesh for pies and bread

Melons-Maybe Prescott Fond Blanc, Kajari or Lemon Drop?

No watermelon, beets, heading cabbage or broccoli

 Vole repelling plants around the perimeter of all my beds

I will also need to thin my Hummingbird vines, Morning Glory vines, celery, Red Malabar spinach and Giant mustard plants out as they come up next year.

 

I have to be stern with myself about what I will not plant.  In the past 5 years, I planted much less than usual and had plenty for fresh eating and preserving.  My eyes are always bigger than my space or need!!