Seed selection and garden plans for 2023

[Sally PB]

Hm, maybe I don't remember the timing very well.

Those are self fertile. If the apples get bees... It is mostly likely my bad.

No worries!

I'm just hoping for more produce from our property.

 

[Coldd]

thanks for the replies everyone. Anyone with experience keeping a bee swarm/hive? I am less interested in the honey and more in their ability to pollenate. I’ll look up the recommended tomato varieties listed above. Thanks!

 

[saysfaa]

..,I’ll look up the recommended tomato varieties listed above. Thanks!

Uh oh, the sweethearts are what we call them because I couldn't remember its real name. I think it isn't available commercially either. Sorry. The others are, or at least they all were last year.

 

[Solanacae]

We have two Montmorency sour cherries. I was worried it was a lack of pollinators, but the nearby wild apple trees set plenty of fruit.

One tree had quite a few blossoms. The other one, which is a year older, had hundreds. The older one is about 8 feet tall now.

I had read that it was common for them to have blossoms, but no fruit when they're just starting out, so I wasn't worried. I did give them Tree Tone in the spring and fall. It's an organic tree fertilizer from Espoma.

I'd love any input! Thanks!

I’ve heard that cherry trees are slower to start producing than other fruit trees - the number I’ve seen is 5-7 years. I’m not sure if that applies to pie cherry varieties like Montmorency though.

thanks for the replies everyone. Anyone with experience keeping a bee swarm/hive? I am less interested in the honey and more in their ability to pollenate. I’ll look up the recommended tomato varieties listed above. Thanks!

I keep bees. If you are just wanting pollinators, you can create habits for native bees and plant flowers to attract them. Single blossomed (as opposed to the more frilly double blossoms) varieties will be easier for pollinators to get to nectar/pollen, so seek those out. Most seed catalogs will have some sort of indication for plants that are ‘pollinator friendly’ or ‘attracts bees’ etc. Also consider bloom time - try to always have something blooming. The more forage you have for pollinators, the more they will come. Solitary bees and other insects are excellent for pollinating and need as much support as honey bees do. That’s going to be the simplest option to get better pollination. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to catch a swarm, but some things to consider before you get started:

Getting into beekeeping isn’t cheap - you’ll have to buy at least one hive, and the last time I was looking at hive components, a complete setup for a 10-frame Langstroth hive (bottom board, two deeps with 10 frames each, inner and outer cover) was $135. That was a couple years ago, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that was more expensive. Used hives are a crapshoot. They may have disease or chemical residues depending on how the previous keeper treated/managed their hives. Then you need a suit, smoker, gloves, hive tool, and there are a few other things you could get that are nice but not necessary. Suits start around $70 and top out around $150, depending on if you get a jacket or a full suit. Gloves, smoker and hive tool will be another $65-75. Then you’ll need to treat for mites - there are plenty of excellent IPM strategies to minimize the chemicals needed, but even those require some supplies, and they are definitely more time intensive.

I know you said that you only want them for pollination, but if you don’t perform routine checks and make sure mite levels are within manageable levels (you will never be completely mite free) then you are just going to make beekeeping harder for the keepers around you. Bees travel to collect pollen/nectar, diseases and mites are passed through that foraging, and so there’s no way to have great biosecurity like you can have with chickens. Whether or not you collect any honey, you still have to manage the hive. An unmanaged hive is a breeding ground for mites and disease.

Hopefully that helps, I might have strong feelings about people who have bees vs those who keep bees.

 

[Happy hen lover]

I’ve heard that cherry trees are slower to start producing than other fruit trees - the number I’ve seen is 5-7 years. I’m not sure if that applies to pie cherry varieties like Montmorency though.

I keep bees. If you are just wanting pollinators, you can create habits for native bees and plant flowers to attract them. Single blossomed (as opposed to the more frilly double blossoms) varieties will be easier for pollinators to get to nectar/pollen, so seek those out. Most seed catalogs will have some sort of indication for plants that are ‘pollinator friendly’ or ‘attracts bees’ etc. Also consider bloom time - try to always have something blooming. The more forage you have for pollinators, the more they will come. Solitary bees and other insects are excellent for pollinating and need as much support as honey bees do. That’s going to be the simplest option to get better pollination. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to catch a swarm, but some things to consider before you get started:

Getting into beekeeping isn’t cheap - you’ll have to buy at least one hive, and the last time I was looking at hive components, a complete setup for a 10-frame Langstroth hive (bottom board, two deeps with 10 frames each, inner and outer cover) was $135. That was a couple years ago, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that was more expensive. Used hives are a crapshoot. They may have disease or chemical residues depending on how the previous keeper treated/managed their hives. Then you need a suit, smoker, gloves, hive tool, and there are a few other things you could get that are nice but not necessary. Suits start around $70 and top out around $150, depending on if you get a jacket or a full suit. Gloves, smoker and hive tool will be another $65-75. Then you’ll need to treat for mites - there are plenty of excellent IPM strategies to minimize the chemicals needed, but even those require some supplies, and they are definitely more time intensive.

I know you said that you only want them for pollination, but if you don’t perform routine checks and make sure mite levels are within manageable levels (you will never be completely mite free) then you are just going to make beekeeping harder for the keepers around you. Bees travel to collect pollen/nectar, diseases and mites are passed through that foraging, and so there’s no way to have great biosecurity like you can have with chickens. Whether or not you collect any honey, you still have to manage the hive. An unmanaged hive is a breeding ground for mites and disease.

Hopefully that helps, I might have strong feelings about people who have bees vs those who keep bees.

What would you suggest for habitat for bees ? I love to see them around too. Are marigolds good for them?

 

[Chickeeaholic]

I’m going to plant pumpkins across the back yard again for the chickens to hide in and eat. Also buckwheat for them. Squash and melon too.

I’m growing all my herbs in pots this year, and cucumbers. I’m going to try mimicking 8 gallon containers by using wire lined with newspaper to grow potatoes. White and sweet. Also German Johnson tomatoes (they did great last year) and a few peppers of various kinds.

Where I stored my pumpkins from this past year, the freeze got to them and they are now composting. I’ll know better next year…

 

[Chickeeaholic]

thanks for the replies everyone. Anyone with experience keeping a bee swarm/hive? I am less interested in the honey and more in their ability to pollenate. I’ll look up the recommended tomato varieties listed above. Thanks!

I don’t know about bee keeping but you may also look into growing buckwheat to attract them. Was hugely successful for me last year and you can feed it to your animals too.

 

[Acre4Me]

Ordering seeds- going through the seeds we have now.

We will grow sweet potatoes again. 22 was out first try. We definitely got a lot, and successfully cured them. But, we found we didn’t care for some varieties, and found we need “early” season ones, planted in preheated soil, and grown under black plastic.

Asparagus was planted in 22, so maybe get a small harvest this spring. Same for the rhubarb.

We always grow green beans, beets, soybeans, tomatoes, peppers, and carrots, so this will continue.

I’ll start leeks in Jan. But, I’ll buy onion starts from the local farm store -great luck, little time investment.

Squash and melons we always grow. But, will try some new varieties this year.

 

[Solanacae]

What would you suggest for habitat for bees ? I love to see them around too. Are marigolds good for them?

What to plant depends on where you live . . . the little French marigolds would be better than the big floofy ones, but I don’t know that they are necessarily bee favorites. Hyssop, lavender, sage, salvia, penstemon, monarda, sunflower, echinacea, rudibekia, caryopteris, all of these have been loved by both native and honey bees where I live. They also love cucurbit blossoms and legume blossoms as well, which is good news for your garden. If you grow any of the umbelliferae (carrot/dill/parsley/fennel) family, let a few go to seed. They are great attractors for beneficial hover flies (which look like a fly but have stripes like a bee) as well as native bees. Go for walks around your neighborhood, see what other people have planted that’s attracting bees, or you can go to the Xerces Society’s website, where there are lots of excellent resources.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Funny you ask. I am looking through catalogs now.

I am JUST starting out this year. I haven't had a garden since we moved here 2 years ago. It's a new zone, so I am researching as much as possible.

I'm hoping to just start out small with a few raised beds. I want to plant alfalfa, kale, tomatoes, pumpkin, onion, garlic, and potatoes. And I'd like to plant some fruit trees. I want to improve my composting system and set up water storage for gardening. Last year, the drought ravaged our landscaping, so I need to plan ahead.those are in the works for late winter.

It'd be great to make a dent in reliance on outside sources for my food - for my animals, too. I'm working on rotating pasture for my goats and (soon to be) geese.