Planting/Growing Your Own in 2016

[RetiredAt63]

It may be winter in the Northern Hemisphere, but in the hearts of gardeners the cold is a prelude to the garden.  In the Southern Hemisphere summer is in full swing.

Rosy and Rural already posted their latest news in the last of the old gardening thread.

My news?  I bought King of the North sweet pepper seeds at a Seedy Saturday, and in about 2 weeks it will be time to start them.  Some of the sweet potatoes I grew last summer are starting to sprout, so there are the starter plants for this year.  Since it is -26C right now, thinking of gardens is a leap into the future.

Who else is planning their garden?  What will you be growing?  What varieties are best in your area?  And Southern gardeners, please keep us warm with stories (and pictures!) of your gardens.

[Bracken_Joy]

Jumping in! Unsure what we'll manage this year, since we may move in July. But our chives (containers) are coming up this week, and I am delighted.

Hoping to at least manage peas, carrots, and cherry tomatoes this year.

[horsepoor]

Thanks for starting a new thread!

I've just been down in the basement happily sowing and transplanting.  I splurged on a new T5 lighting setup for the seedlings this year rather than buy new bulbs for my random assortment of shop lights.  SO nice!  They have little ratchet pulley things to adjust the height.

Just filled a 72 cell flat with peppers and eggplant.  This is going to be the year of the chiles.

Last month I started a flat of cold weather crops, so potted those up to 12-oz cups - onions, leeks, chard, kale, radicchio, parsley, lettuce and collards were all successful.  Celery and celeriac germination was 0%, so I may try those again.  Will start another flat of cold weather stuff tomorrow - cabbage, broccoli, more lettuce and so on.

Tomatoes will get started around 3/5.

It's going to be 61 tomorrow, so I'm planning to get out in the back yard and start poking around in the compost pile and seeing if there's some good finished stuff at the bottom.  Also need to get into the raspberry canes and thin them before they start to leaf out.  Then there's the hops trellis to devise too (it's different each year).

[Tom Bri]

In early February I started a flat of tobacco seeds, and now many hundreds are popping up. These will be thinned back to about twenty, and planted well after last frost. Tobacco is very slow to germinate, and early stages of growth are very slow, but once it takes off, it grows quickly to a plant about 5 feet tall.
I rolled a few homemade cigars last fall, just for fun. I also chew a little of it. Tobacco is a very nice flower, and you can make a natural pesticide out of the leaves.

[JRA64]

We had very warm weather for February in Colorado yesterday so I took a stroll to see if anything was happening in the garden. I found a huge turnip, and a smaller one, I somehow overlooked in the fall. I'll put  them in stew next weekend. Catnip is putting out shoots, as was the oregano.

Last year I used the Garden Time app to plan out my garden. but somehow it's disappeared from my tablet. Hmm.

[RetiredAt63]

@horsepoor - !?!?!? That's tropical!  We got to a high of -19C (-2F) but should be up to 0C (32F) by mid-week.  We had a warm December and part of January but now winter is definitely here.  At least the cold brings brilliantly blue skies and bright sunshine, I can feel the sun getting stronger when it comes in the windows.  I put cool weather crops out in April, usually tomatoes are started late April and go out last week of May, and peppers and sweet potatoes are started soon and go out  first week of June.  Warm weather doesn't seem to come any sooner, but our falls are being milder, so I hope to do some season extension in the fall.  Or be in BC by then.

@Tom Bri - I've never grown tobacco (not a smoker), although it is grown in the warmer parts of Ontario that have lighter soil.  But I remember my parents growing flowering tobacco when I was a kid, and we would pick the flowers and suck the nectar from where the flower meets its stem.  Be super careful if you ever decide to extract nicotine as an insecticide, it is extremely toxic if you get it on your skin.

@JRA64 - how nice to be able to actually get something out of the garden.  Mine is all under snow and ice. 

[Jon_Snow]

I'm on board with the new thread!

Year 2 of my gardening career got an official start with some spiffy new cedar raised beds last week. Need to find some high quality topsoil to fill them up. Will be planting a few things in late March (potatoes, lettuce, spinach, arugula, and perhaps some peas and onion sets) before I head to Mexico...my sister has agreed to look after some of my seedlings (cabbage, brocoli, cauliflower) while I'm gone. Our healthier fruit trees have been pruned.

Once I get back to B.C. in mid-April - it's really time to get going full throttle...need to get a bunch more seedlings started (squash, cukes, and maybe some tomatoes, though I will probably just do transplants later). More potatoes, onions, and peas too. Want to try to plant some horseradish too.

Let's rock the gardens this year!

[Tom Bri]

@Tom Bri - I've never grown tobacco (not a smoker), although it is grown in the warmer parts of Ontario that have lighter soil.  But I remember my parents growing flowering tobacco when I was a kid, and we would pick the flowers and suck the nectar from where the flower meets its stem.  Be super careful if you ever decide to extract nicotine as an insecticide, it is extremely toxic if you get it on your skin.

@JRA64 - how nice to be able to actually get something out of the garden.  Mine is all under snow and ice.

Even handling the green leaves can cause irritation, but the pollinators and the hummingbirds love the flowers, and they flower a long time.
It's still cold here, 4 inches of snow today, and about 16F.

[Astatine]

Yay for a new thread!

It's summer here (yesterday was 34C in the shade). We currently have a glut of zucchini and cherry tomatoes. I've lost count of the number of times we've had zucchini fritters for dinner in the past few weeks. Yum!

We're just starting to harvest some apples. I forget what type of apple they are but it's not a type available in the shops here. They've started falling to the ground. We haven't tried any yet. I suspect they will be a bit floury but if they aren't nice to eat, we will either grate them into our breakfast (for a quasi Bircher muesli) or cook them.

[Cressida]

Posting to follow. We have literally no space for beds, but I'm thinking of putting in a few containers.

[horsepoor]

@horsepoor - !?!?!? That's tropical!  We got to a high of -19C (-2F) but should be up to 0C (32F) by mid-week.  We had a warm December and part of January but now winter is definitely here.  At least the cold brings brilliantly blue skies and bright sunshine, I can feel the sun getting stronger when it comes in the windows.  I put cool weather crops out in April, usually tomatoes are started late April and go out last week of May, and peppers and sweet potatoes are started soon and go out  first week of June.  Warm weather doesn't seem to come any sooner, but our falls are being milder, so I hope to do some season extension in the fall.  Or be in BC by then.

Yes, it's ridiculous.  Usually can't work the ground until mid-March, and warm-season crops wait until mid-May to go out, but it's warm, so I'm going for it.  Might buy more Wall O'Waters this year since my co-worker swears by putting his tomatoes out in early April in WoW's, and it worked for me with the few I tried last year.  It's been looking very much like an early spring here.  I was in Denver last week and it was almost 70!

[happy]

Its late summer here and our most humid month (yuk). Makes gardening hard work and often I don't do much in Feb. But I am determined to get a good autumn planting going so I'm weeding neglected beds and trying to get bed prepared for planting. Harvesting: lettuce, silver beet, beans. Growing: spring onions, butternut pumpkins, late planted basil.  NOT growing - cucumbers: epic fail. One little plant that just can't get going. Time to cut the summer manure crop down and dig in.

[Thegoblinchief]

I love gardening season, eagerly looking forward to this year. All my seeds are ordered but too early to start anything.

I'll start broccoli, chives, and maybe some salad greens in early March. Tomatoes will get started late March, early April. Peas will get started as soon as I get their new beds for this year worked up. Mid April I'll put black plastic down to pre-warm the soil for my green beans, cukes, and squash.

Early July we get chickens so I'll need to have the coop built in June before we go on holiday at the end of the month.

[Thegoblinchief]

Forgot to add I'm considering trying to sell my surplus veggies at nominal rates instead of just giving them away. Gonna be reaching out to my local family and friends to gauge interest. I can't produce enough to make a market stall worthwhile but I'd like to further subsidize my hobby if I can.

[Jon_Snow]

In an attempt to try a few new crops this year, I'm going to give Brussels sprouts a try. A wrongly maligned food IMHO.

[OmahaSteph]

I live in an apartment but the balcony is south-facing. I'd LOVE to try to grow some thing out there this spring. Suggestions? I was thinking at least some fresh herbs.

[Thegoblinchief]

South facing is ideal. Sure things like salad greens or herbs might bake in summer but they'll grow well in shoulder seasons. If there's space for 5 gallon buckets/pots, plenty of tomatoes, Bush cucumbers (spacemaster for a typical cuke, or something more unusual like Mexican gherkins), and Bush squash (zucchini or Bush habit butternut) would thrive.

[Threshkin]

Last year i had mixed results with my new greenhouse.  I got lots of tomatoes but they were small and I had problems with blossom end rot.  The rot may have been a macro climate issue though because my neighbors growing outside had the same problem.

I used a wick watering system made from strips of scrap towels and old gutter pieces.  The gutters worked fine but the towels rotted out in one season.  I was expecting them to last 2-3 seasons.  I need to look into a new way to draw water out to the gutters because I like that part a lot.  I am try mesh cups filled with peat moss if I can find the cups for a good price.

If I get ambitious (probably not) I will interconnect the gutters and link them up to a rain barrel water source to make the entire process automatic.  Colorado dreaming I suspect!

[OmahaSteph]

South facing is ideal. Sure things like salad greens or herbs might bake in summer but they'll grow well in shoulder seasons. If there's space for 5 gallon buckets/pots, plenty of tomatoes, Bush cucumbers (spacemaster for a typical cuke, or something more unusual like Mexican gherkins), and Bush squash (zucchini or Bush habit butternut) would thrive.

Yep, plenty of room. I've already got the planters and some of the seeds, just need to wait for warmer temps. though I may start some inside. We through a ton of herbs and love tomatoes. We'll be moving in July, hopefully to a place that has more room for container gardening. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Jon_Snow]

Last year i had mixed results with my new greenhouse.  I got lots of tomatoes but they were small and I had problems with blossom end rot.  The rot may have been a macro climate issue though because my neighbors growing outside had the same problem.

Damn blossom end rot...I was just thankful that it only happened with my Roma's...why that was I'll likely never know. ;)

[horsepoor]

I live in an apartment but the balcony is south-facing. I'd LOVE to try to grow some thing out there this spring. Suggestions? I was thinking at least some fresh herbs.

In addition to herbs, I think I'd do a cherry tomato (look for a determinate variety) and a serrano if you like spicy stuff.  Both of those will give you a steady harvest all summer and should do well in pots.  A pepper will do well in a 5 gallon pot, but 10-15 gallons is better for tomatoes if at all possible.  A Rubbermaid tote with a big hole cut in the lid works well, but make sure you allow drainage (and catch the overflow if you're above someone else). 

[Threshkin]

Last year i had mixed results with my new greenhouse.  I got lots of tomatoes but they were small and I had problems with blossom end rot.  The rot may have been a macro climate issue though because my neighbors growing outside had the same problem.

Damn blossom end rot...I was just thankful that it only happened with my Roma's...why that was I'll likely never know. ;)

We had a very cool and wet spring.  Unusual for our dry climate.  Is was funny having to go out in the rain to water my plants though!

[Larabeth]

We are finally going to have a place for gardening!

I've got big plans for a raised garden and I hope that we can find a mini orange tree.  Looking forward to seeing others' plans!

[Tyn]

Just got an allotment plot, so I'll be expanding my food growing this year.  First job is digging over all the grass, but at least I've got some time to do that before I'll be looking to plant anything.

[Anje]

I'm well underway with my favourite crop: peppers. Got lemon chilies, red chilies (who knows if they have a name - they are seeds from last years plants and thus a weird hybrid, but they thrive here), and three types of paprika going. Also bought a habanero and will plant the seeds this week.

I only have a balcony, so I'll grow peppers (because quite surprisingly they are the easiest type of plant to get going in my rainy&cold type of summer), beans and a ton of herbs. I also might try squash again this year - had decent luck with it last time I tried.

[MasterStache]

Subscribing.

This will be my first year attempting anything garden related. We don't have a ton of room with a tiered backyard and all. But I am determined to grow something. Trying to learn as much as I can. Our family eats a lot of bell peppers, some broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, salad greens etc. Perhaps I can learn some tips and tricks following this thread

Do most folks start seeds inside in late winter? I suppose it depends on what you are growing and your location?

[horsepoor]

Subscribing.

This will be my first year attempting anything garden related. We don't have a ton of room with a tiered backyard and all. But I am determined to grow something. Trying to learn as much as I can. Our family eats a lot of bell peppers, some broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, salad greens etc. Perhaps I can learn some tips and tricks following this thread

Do most folks start seeds inside in late winter? I suppose it depends on what you are growing and your location?

I start plants inside, but as a new gardener, you might be better off buying most of your plants.  Carrots will need to start from seed outside, and salad greens are easy to start from seed.  Peppers, broccoli etc, I'd recommend getting plants.  Strong supplementary light is needed to start strong seedlings, so if you have an old shop light or something laying around that could work, but usually new gardeners aren't set up to get seedlings going well and it just adds to the difficulty of learning the ropes.

Do look for SMALL seedlings of broccoli and cauliflower though. They become root bound easily, so it's somewhat counter-intuitive that choosing the larger plants at the store might result in getting little to no harvest.

Timing will depend on your location, so if you post that, I'm sure someone could help you out.

[MasterStache]

Subscribing.

This will be my first year attempting anything garden related. We don't have a ton of room with a tiered backyard and all. But I am determined to grow something. Trying to learn as much as I can. Our family eats a lot of bell peppers, some broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, salad greens etc. Perhaps I can learn some tips and tricks following this thread

Do most folks start seeds inside in late winter? I suppose it depends on what you are growing and your location?

I start plants inside, but as a new gardener, you might be better off buying most of your plants.  Carrots will need to start from seed outside, and salad greens are easy to start from seed.  Peppers, broccoli etc, I'd recommend getting plants.  Strong supplementary light is needed to start strong seedlings, so if you have an old shop light or something laying around that could work, but usually new gardeners aren't set up to get seedlings going well and it just adds to the difficulty of learning the ropes.

Do look for SMALL seedlings of broccoli and cauliflower though. They become root bound easily, so it's somewhat counter-intuitive that choosing the larger plants at the store might result in getting little to no harvest.

Timing will depend on your location, so if you post that, I'm sure someone could help you out.

Thank you very much for the tips. I live in the Midwest (Cincinnati).

[AZDude]

Its about 85F for the high, so I have already planted some stuff. Hard to grow in the AZ soil, so I keep the garden relatively small, but trying a couple new things this year. Watermelon and a grape vine, nestled in the shadier part of the yard.

Heat kills or affects the taste of plenty of stuff, so its trial and error on how well some things grow. Takes a lot of water and maintenance, too. Its a challenge here, but good news is you can grow year round.

[RetiredAt63]

AZDude, your growing conditions are the opposite of mine.  We worry about getting the soil warm enough and dry enough, you have so much heat.  I read somewhere that typical gardens in really hot dry areas are actually a little below ground, or have a raised edge, so they hold in the water and protect plants from drying winds.  Does that sound reasonable for your area?

[AZDude]

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, but I've never tried it with the smaller stuff. With trees, etc... its a no brainer to build a small basin where the water pools.

[FunkyChopstick]

This weekend is seed-a-palooza for me. I organized all my seeds three weeks ago. I have more than enough to feed a small army in seeds. Now I just have to start a sowing! I have a 2x4 t5 light that has been worth its salt in helping my little buddies grow. On the (overzealous) roster this year is: tomatoes (paste, salad, and cherry), peppers (jalop and bells), cukes, squash, eggplant, carrots in buckets, beets, broc, cauli, cabbage, and salad greens. I also just bought fruit trees and other plants through Stark Bros. nursery. Fingers crossed for me!

@ thegoblinchief  I am also going to try to sell some plants this season. Nothing crazy, market to co-workers, in my community paper, and on FB. I would be happy with anything since I usually get nothing. We shall see.

[Cressida]

I start plants inside, but as a new gardener, you might be better off buying most of your plants.  Carrots will need to start from seed outside, and salad greens are easy to start from seed.  Peppers, broccoli etc, I'd recommend getting plants.  Strong supplementary light is needed to start strong seedlings, so if you have an old shop light or something laying around that could work, but usually new gardeners aren't set up to get seedlings going well and it just adds to the difficulty of learning the ropes.

Thanks for this - sounds wise. If anyone near Seattle is reading and has a recommendation for a nursery that has reliable plants, I'm all ears.

[MayDay]

Hoping to start my seeds today!  I work PT for a local organic farm, and last year they let me start my seeds there.  Hoping to get a text back from the main farmer today.  I need to buy my own potting soil if they don't have room for me.  Gotta get that lettuce going!

I have a community garden plot (40x20 feet) that I grow most of my stuff in, but I also made a 6x6 foot bed in the yard of our rental house.  I edged it with some concrete block, put cardboard over the weeds, threw in a bag of raked leaves I had saved from fall, and dumped a couple tubs of compost (Christmas present from my dad ;) ) on top.  I plan to put annoying viney things like pumpkins in it, and cross my fingers the deer leave it alone. 

[RetiredAt63]

I'm not local but can give general comments.
1.  Nursery, not big box.  Big box is fine for lots of plants, but not edibles. I have seen apple trees on sale here (big box) of varieties that are not hardy here - the tree will probably live, but the flower buds won't.  So there will only be flowers and apples after really mild winters.
2.  Plan 2 trips.  The first is to see what your local nurseries have in stock.  Write down the names of the varieties you are interested in - i.e. not just tomatoes, but "Big Boy" or Sweet Million".  Then research them, to be sure the variety you are buying is what you want.  Yes with a smart phone you could do the research at the nursery, but it is nice to see what all the ones near you have.   Not to mention price comparisons.
3.  Check the plants - you do not want them pot bound (pot full of roots, lots of roots coming out the drainage holes) and you do not want them with almost no roots in the pot, they were just moved to the pot, and prices usually are based on pot size.  A big plant in a big pot, with reasonable roots, can have the odd flower, but annuals set flowers early if they are stressed, and they never really recover.
4.  Go back to the ones that have what you like and buy with confidence  ;-)

Thanks for this - sounds wise. If anyone near Seattle is reading and has a recommendation for a nursery that has reliable plants, I'm all ears.

[gardeningandgreen]

We are far to ready for the spring here! Minnesota is rough in February. So I planted some peppers inside under my lovely grow light. If they fail I can still plant more but I really needed to play in some dirt for my sanity! I have never heard of the Wall O' Waters! I might need to get some!

[MishMash]

Expecting a nice weekend here in VA so I'm going to get a jump start on clearing out some crazy overgrown ostrich ferns to put in some new raised bed gardens.  This is a 14 foot long sloped area so I don't want to use paver stones for this one like I did in the back. Anyone have any good recommendations for a not so handy, highly accident prone girl to build a cedar raised bed next to the house (about 6 inches from the foundation, I plan on keeping the soil off the foundation wall)?  Most of the plans I've seen look a bit complex.

[Thegoblinchief]

Expecting a nice weekend here in VA so I'm going to get a jump start on clearing out some crazy overgrown ostrich ferns to put in some new raised bed gardens.  This is a 14 foot long sloped area so I don't want to use paver stones for this one like I did in the back. Anyone have any good recommendations for a not so handy, highly accident prone girl to build a cedar raised bed next to the house (about 6 inches from the foundation, I plan on keeping the soil off the foundation wall)?  Most of the plans I've seen look a bit complex.

3 boards of your desired length and width. Cut one in half. Use 3" decking screws, two on each corner, to secure the short sides (cut board) to the long sides.

[RetiredAt63]

Same here, but if the wood is hard I will predrill holes in the outside boards, so I am not having everything wiggle as I drill.  An alternate is to use the angle iron pieces, screw them to both corners and there you are.  The biggest help I know is having the appropriate drill, not too heavy for my hand but strong enough to drive the screws easily, which for me means a corded drill, and a good extension cord.

Also the "3 boards of your desired length and width. Cut one in half. Use 3" decking screws, two on each corner, to secure the short sides (cut board) to the long sides."  comment - dimensions?  I use  3 8' lengths, which gives me a 4x8 bed, but I know people who have 12' beds - a 6' depth is awkward.  Are you going for 14' long?  The sides will bulge over that distance, so you could have 2 or 3 smaller beds all lined up, or make 2 or 3 separate boxes and have them lined up together.

Expecting a nice weekend here in VA so I'm going to get a jump start on clearing out some crazy overgrown ostrich ferns to put in some new raised bed gardens.  This is a 14 foot long sloped area so I don't want to use paver stones for this one like I did in the back. Anyone have any good recommendations for a not so handy, highly accident prone girl to build a cedar raised bed next to the house (about 6 inches from the foundation, I plan on keeping the soil off the foundation wall)?  Most of the plans I've seen look a bit complex.

3 boards of your desired length and width. Cut one in half. Use 3" decking screws, two on each corner, to secure the short sides (cut board) to the long sides.

[Thegoblinchief]

By dimensions I mainly meant whether you want 6" or 12" high. I prefer 6" high. 12" boards are too expensive for me and my underlying soil is okay enough that I don't want to import enough dirt and mulch to fill 12" deep beds.

I'd honestly prefer a site where I can just use mounded soft-sided beds but my space is so small that hard sides let me be more aggressive while also giving convenient mounting for trellises and season extension. Last year's garden was soft-sided but I'm going to build as many raised beds as I can afford (and have time to build between snow melting and growing weather).

[Nancy]

Just ordered my seeds. I'm so excited for the season!

In addition to brandywine and grape tomatoes, I'm planting San Marzano paste tomatoes this year. It'll be my first experience canning if the plants bear fruit. Other new veg: cauliflower, Chinese broccoli, and a new type of lettuce. I might try a new type of bean too.

[MishMash]

By dimensions I mainly meant whether you want 6" or 12" high. I prefer 6" high. 12" boards are too expensive for me and my underlying soil is okay enough that I don't want to import enough dirt and mulch to fill 12" deep beds.

I'd honestly prefer a site where I can just use mounded soft-sided beds but my space is so small that hard sides let me be more aggressive while also giving convenient mounting for trellises and season extension. Last year's garden was soft-sided but I'm going to build as many raised beds as I can afford (and have time to build between snow melting and growing weather).

Thanks guys!  It's probably going to be 12" in depth, our soil is SOLID clay, I"ve tried growing in it and it's terrible.  I like the idea of multiple smaller beds to keep everything looking neat and to help with the bowing.

[Jon_Snow]

I chose to split the difference and went with 10". ;)

Have I mentioned this thread is getting me excited for Spring? Each evening I hunker down at the end of the couch and gather up my copy of Backyard Bounty, the West Coast Seeds catalogue, and my massive (it must weigh 7 pounds) Lee Valley 10-year Garden Journal where I record all my gardening successes and failures...as well as weather history, planting layout, etc.

Just wanna get going! *looks out window to see the non-stop deluge continue* :(

[RetiredAt63]

My bad, I thought length and width.  height, I just go with what is best value for money - at least 8".

By dimensions I mainly meant whether you want 6" or 12" high. I prefer 6" high. 12" boards are too expensive for me and my underlying soil is okay enough that I don't want to import enough dirt and mulch to fill 12" deep beds.

I'd honestly prefer a site where I can just use mounded soft-sided beds but my space is so small that hard sides let me be more aggressive while also giving convenient mounting for trellises and season extension. Last year's garden was soft-sided but I'm going to build as many raised beds as I can afford (and have time to build between snow melting and growing weather).

[RetiredAt63]

I am also on solid (Leda) clay, and have found that depth depends on what I want to grow. 

For flower beds (perennials like day-lilies, Siberian Iris, peonies) I cut the grass super short, put down cardboard and got it thoroughly wet, and piled soil and compost directly on top.  Beds are maybe 6" above the lawn?  Now when I plant in the beds I find that the soil is good for more then 6" deep, the earthworms and other soil animals have redistributed the organic material. 

For vegetables I use raised beds, and the boards are 8".  Same prep, short grass, wet cardboard, soil and compost.  I like the soil to be about an inch below the top of the enclosure, so that nothing spills off when I am working in the bed.  Last summer I grew sweet potatoes for the first time, and this was the first crop where the soil was not deep enough.  This summer I am going to fill the sweet potato raised bed full to bursting, so there is more soil depth. 

Clay is nice in that it has lots of nutrients, and holds water.  Of course, when you could make pottery from your soil, it does need a bit of help.

Thanks guys!  It's probably going to be 12" in depth, our soil is SOLID clay, I've tried growing in it and it's terrible.  I like the idea of multiple smaller beds to keep everything looking neat and to help with the bowing.

[Cressida]

I'm not local but can give general comments.
1.  Nursery, not big box.  Big box is fine for lots of plants, but not edibles. I have seen apple trees on sale here (big box) of varieties that are not hardy here - the tree will probably live, but the flower buds won't.  So there will only be flowers and apples after really mild winters.
2.  Plan 2 trips.  The first is to see what your local nurseries have in stock.  Write down the names of the varieties you are interested in - i.e. not just tomatoes, but "Big Boy" or Sweet Million".  Then research them, to be sure the variety you are buying is what you want.  Yes with a smart phone you could do the research at the nursery, but it is nice to see what all the ones near you have.   Not to mention price comparisons.
3.  Check the plants - you do not want them pot bound (pot full of roots, lots of roots coming out the drainage holes) and you do not want them with almost no roots in the pot, they were just moved to the pot, and prices usually are based on pot size.  A big plant in a big pot, with reasonable roots, can have the odd flower, but annuals set flowers early if they are stressed, and they never really recover.
4.  Go back to the ones that have what you like and buy with confidence  ;-)

Thanks for this - sounds wise. If anyone near Seattle is reading and has a recommendation for a nursery that has reliable plants, I'm all ears.

Thanks R@63! I need all the help I can get.  :)

[Thegoblinchief]

Cressida - PM Erica. She's just a bit north of Seattle and could probably recommend a good nursery. She also has an article with pictures on how to select seedlings.

[RetiredAt63]

We gardeners want new gardeners be happy and successful.    For your area, definitely read Erica's blog, NorthWesteEdible (http://www.nwedible.com/).  She has great gardening information.

Thanks R@63! I need all the help I can get.  :)

[OmahaSteph]

There's a high of 65 in Omaha today so spring fever has hit BIG TIME. A regional hardware/garden store advertised three-shelved plastic covered greenhouses on sale and it will be perfect for the balcony. Still going to start seeds indoors (I don't trust the weather quite yet) but then I can move them outside when the time is right. Really reasonable price. Now, if I could just get over the fact that I have to PAY for dirt ...

[MayDay]

50's here all weekend!  I went to the greenhouse yesterday and started seeds.  I'll do another round of more lettuce in 2 weeks.  Hopefully it won't be too early, but usually my lettuce does fine with some snow on it, lol.