The Community Garden Plot Thickens
April 30, 2024 12:01 PM Subscribe
I enjoy gardening mostly in containers at home, but have the opportunity to expand my reach to a community garden plot. Now for the pickiest of questions: which annual plants are suited to my conditions and especially gratifying to grow in-ground?
For the details, I don't grow anything edible in the ground at home (contaminated soil, boo), so I'm interested to see what difference in-ground growing can make, primarily for herbs and vegetables. I'll still be growing things in containers at home, but am interested in branching out to plants I wouldn't have thought to grow in my home setup, or which are especially suited to growing in the ground for whatever reason.
I live in zone 6b and am in a coastal New England climate, and my current plans are to plant corn (I've grown it at home, but really as a living trellis because I don't have a large enough container to support pollination), maybe a three sisters situation?, watermelon/other sprawly gourds, and smatterings of flowers for beauty and pollination. For reference, at home I generally grow lots of herbs (varieties of basils and mints, weirdo witchy herbs, I'd have a sea of sage and thyme if it were practical), some flowers (dahlias, roses, wildflowers), a couple fruits (blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb), and your standard vegetables (greens, tomatoes, peas and beans, carrots, radishes, etc.). There are lots of vegetables I've attempted and never grown successfully, whether due to space/support issues, skill, climate (including weirdly dry or wet or overcast summers), or just starting the seeds at the wrong time.
With all that said, what growing experiments should I embark on/what are your recs for the following conditions?
-suited to zone 6b/coastal climate
-especially good to grow in ground as opposed to containers
-can stand up to an amount of neglect (I won't be getting out to the plot every day, I anticipate making 2-3 visits per week but I'm sure life will interfere on occasion)
-annual plants (the community plot doesn't currently allow overwintering and I don't want to haul dormant plants back and forth from the plot in the fall and spring)
For the details, I don't grow anything edible in the ground at home (contaminated soil, boo), so I'm interested to see what difference in-ground growing can make, primarily for herbs and vegetables. I'll still be growing things in containers at home, but am interested in branching out to plants I wouldn't have thought to grow in my home setup, or which are especially suited to growing in the ground for whatever reason.
I live in zone 6b and am in a coastal New England climate, and my current plans are to plant corn (I've grown it at home, but really as a living trellis because I don't have a large enough container to support pollination), maybe a three sisters situation?, watermelon/other sprawly gourds, and smatterings of flowers for beauty and pollination. For reference, at home I generally grow lots of herbs (varieties of basils and mints, weirdo witchy herbs, I'd have a sea of sage and thyme if it were practical), some flowers (dahlias, roses, wildflowers), a couple fruits (blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb), and your standard vegetables (greens, tomatoes, peas and beans, carrots, radishes, etc.). There are lots of vegetables I've attempted and never grown successfully, whether due to space/support issues, skill, climate (including weirdly dry or wet or overcast summers), or just starting the seeds at the wrong time.
With all that said, what growing experiments should I embark on/what are your recs for the following conditions?
-suited to zone 6b/coastal climate
-especially good to grow in ground as opposed to containers
-can stand up to an amount of neglect (I won't be getting out to the plot every day, I anticipate making 2-3 visits per week but I'm sure life will interfere on occasion)
-annual plants (the community plot doesn't currently allow overwintering and I don't want to haul dormant plants back and forth from the plot in the fall and spring)
Rethink the corn. Last year price of corn at the farmers' market (granted, in the cornbelt) - $5 / dozen. What is the size of the plot? You probably cannot get enough corn out of the plot to make it worth your while.
Tomatoes! In my experience - you just cannot keep them watered well enough in the container.
Carrots and beets are more satisfying in the ground, as you can plant them in a nice row.
DO NOT, I repeat - DO NOT plant mint outside of the container.
oh! I'm zone 4 and am able to plant gladioli through the summer. It's always such a delight, as they seem like tropical flowers! (bulbs need to be pulled out in the winter, so ideal for your annual allotment)
posted by Dotty at 12:13 PM on April 30 [2 favorites]
Tomatoes! In my experience - you just cannot keep them watered well enough in the container.
Carrots and beets are more satisfying in the ground, as you can plant them in a nice row.
DO NOT, I repeat - DO NOT plant mint outside of the container.
oh! I'm zone 4 and am able to plant gladioli through the summer. It's always such a delight, as they seem like tropical flowers! (bulbs need to be pulled out in the winter, so ideal for your annual allotment)
posted by Dotty at 12:13 PM on April 30 [2 favorites]
Yeah, seconding "forget the corn", or at least do some homework about what the right conditions should be. I'm learning that the zone alone isn't enough to know about sometimes.
Or, at least, if you do the 3 sisters thing, choose things that would all sprout together. Someone in my own community garden tried that last year - except he chose fava beans for the beans, and a late-germinating variety of corn for the corn. Fava beans like colder earlier temperatures, so it came up fast and the corn didn't do squat, and then by the time he'd rigged up a stake for the favas it also messed with the squash anyway and the whole thing was a bust.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:40 PM on April 30
Or, at least, if you do the 3 sisters thing, choose things that would all sprout together. Someone in my own community garden tried that last year - except he chose fava beans for the beans, and a late-germinating variety of corn for the corn. Fava beans like colder earlier temperatures, so it came up fast and the corn didn't do squat, and then by the time he'd rigged up a stake for the favas it also messed with the squash anyway and the whole thing was a bust.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:40 PM on April 30
Response by poster: Not to threadsit, but while I'm definitely interested in growing things I can't acquire elsewhere, I'm not particularly concerned with whether individual crops would be worth my while monetarily. For stuff like corn, I can definitely get it cheaper from a farmstand but I'm interested in the process of growing it to the point of fruitful harvest purely for my own enjoyment and edification.
I'm also not planning to grow anything where I need to pull bulbs or rhizomes for the winter in the plot - if I'm going to do that, I'd rather do it in a container at home.
posted by quatsch at 12:52 PM on April 30
I'm also not planning to grow anything where I need to pull bulbs or rhizomes for the winter in the plot - if I'm going to do that, I'd rather do it in a container at home.
posted by quatsch at 12:52 PM on April 30
Garlic and potatoes are very satisfying to grow. Onions too.
I have herbs in my community garden plot, and while I know they grow well in containers, there's something so satisfying about herbs that overwinter and get really established. I have thyme and oregano and lavender for years!
I've never planted kale in my plot, it just keeps coming back. I did plant chard once, and am very happy that it returns.
Rhubarb!
Last year I grew cucumbers and the whole quick fridge pickles thing was a big hit in the household.
Sunflowers are really great in a larger plot, I can't imagine doing them in containers. I've never harvested any of the seeds, the birds get to them first, but they are beautiful.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 1:05 PM on April 30 [1 favorite]
I have herbs in my community garden plot, and while I know they grow well in containers, there's something so satisfying about herbs that overwinter and get really established. I have thyme and oregano and lavender for years!
I've never planted kale in my plot, it just keeps coming back. I did plant chard once, and am very happy that it returns.
Rhubarb!
Last year I grew cucumbers and the whole quick fridge pickles thing was a big hit in the household.
Sunflowers are really great in a larger plot, I can't imagine doing them in containers. I've never harvested any of the seeds, the birds get to them first, but they are beautiful.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 1:05 PM on April 30 [1 favorite]
If using containers means you plant only varieties of tomatoes that don't get too big, I'd suggest planting some heirloom varieties that are known for their flavor because they'll probably be tastier than what you're growing now.
posted by Redstart at 3:06 PM on April 30
posted by Redstart at 3:06 PM on April 30
I have herbs in my community garden plot, and while I know they grow well in containers, there's something so satisfying about herbs that overwinter and get really established. I have thyme and oregano and lavender for years!
I've never planted kale in my plot, it just keeps coming back. I did plant chard once, and am very happy that it returns.
Redirect to call attention to the fact that the OP said that they are not allowed to overwinter things in the plot.
....OP: a lot of lettuces and greens are easy-care and also short-lived - in fact, they have a fast life cycle and that's part of the point. You can keep re-seeding them as long as you need lettuce or whatever, and then you eat it whenever you feel like it, even if it's not "fully grown".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:52 PM on April 30 [1 favorite]
I've never planted kale in my plot, it just keeps coming back. I did plant chard once, and am very happy that it returns.
Redirect to call attention to the fact that the OP said that they are not allowed to overwinter things in the plot.
....OP: a lot of lettuces and greens are easy-care and also short-lived - in fact, they have a fast life cycle and that's part of the point. You can keep re-seeding them as long as you need lettuce or whatever, and then you eat it whenever you feel like it, even if it's not "fully grown".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:52 PM on April 30 [1 favorite]
Rhubarb, cucamelons, husk cherries, garlic, borage, sorrel, garden huckleberries. All of these are forgiving and productive in New England! Some need to be started indoors asap.
posted by slateyness at 5:46 PM on April 30
posted by slateyness at 5:46 PM on April 30
Rhubarb?!? From memory of it growing in the backyard in Minn., it takes dynamite to get rid of it. I'd put it almost in the mint category.
Look for the perennial variety of arugula, it tastes better (imo), and comes back stronger each year.
Also a fan of the lovage growing in our community garden. Very unusual (in the you never see much of it around), but makes a nice complement to Italian style recipes.
This year's experiment is fenugreek, but it's supposedly a good container plant. (It's also supposed to be a good nitrogen fixing crop)
posted by cfraenkel at 6:23 PM on April 30
Look for the perennial variety of arugula, it tastes better (imo), and comes back stronger each year.
Also a fan of the lovage growing in our community garden. Very unusual (in the you never see much of it around), but makes a nice complement to Italian style recipes.
This year's experiment is fenugreek, but it's supposedly a good container plant. (It's also supposed to be a good nitrogen fixing crop)
posted by cfraenkel at 6:23 PM on April 30
Climbing plants like pole beans and peas are rather fun and can produce a lot in a small space. There are climbing flowers too.
Read up on the pollination requirements for corn. It may be there is a minimum size plot to get good results.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:47 AM on May 1
Read up on the pollination requirements for corn. It may be there is a minimum size plot to get good results.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:47 AM on May 1
Consider taking this question to a local seed library - they may have plants you've never heard of, and be willing to share seeds.
posted by jennypower at 6:00 AM on May 1
posted by jennypower at 6:00 AM on May 1
Squash. They're vine-y and like to spread out and produce quantities of delicious squashes. I dislike zucchini, but love yellow summer squash, and butternut and other winter squash keep well, taste great. There are tons of varieties that you'll never see in stores.
Peas are satisfying to pick and eat immediately, also cherry tomatoes. A friend has tiny cherry tomatoes, small grape size, that taste good and are fun to eat; so much better than hard grocery store grape tomatoes. Green beans are so good, and pretty easy.
If you plan to keep this garden plot, find a really great variety of strawberry. The local strawberries are a million times better than the imported ones, and even local farms are using heartier varieties. Also for long term, asparagus is kind of goofy to grow.
Baker Creek Seeds has a wasabi arugula variety that is appealing. If I buy arugula, it's enough for a month, but doesn't keep that long, so growing it makes sense.
posted by theora55 at 9:41 AM on May 1
Peas are satisfying to pick and eat immediately, also cherry tomatoes. A friend has tiny cherry tomatoes, small grape size, that taste good and are fun to eat; so much better than hard grocery store grape tomatoes. Green beans are so good, and pretty easy.
If you plan to keep this garden plot, find a really great variety of strawberry. The local strawberries are a million times better than the imported ones, and even local farms are using heartier varieties. Also for long term, asparagus is kind of goofy to grow.
Baker Creek Seeds has a wasabi arugula variety that is appealing. If I buy arugula, it's enough for a month, but doesn't keep that long, so growing it makes sense.
posted by theora55 at 9:41 AM on May 1
If you plan to keep this garden plot, find a really great variety of strawberry. The local strawberries are a million times better than the imported ones, and even local farms are using heartier varieties.
Counter-argument that strawberries are a perennial, so you may want to check with your garden about whether you would be able to do this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:29 AM on May 2
Counter-argument that strawberries are a perennial, so you may want to check with your garden about whether you would be able to do this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:29 AM on May 2
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posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:13 PM on April 30