What are you trying that is new to you this year in the garden?

[kittiekat]

I know it's not 'new', but I do have grapes that are about to flower for the first time this year. I also have a few kiwi plants I trained onto my chain link fence for edible privacy 2 years ago, with luck they will fruit too. Both will be a first for me.

-Ashley

Congratulations on this. Hope all goes well.

 

[Britesea]

I'm planning on doubling my kale row, just for the ducks- that way I'll have fresh greens for them through most of the winter as well.
I never got them started last year, so this year I'm going to try the Kazakh melons- supposedly they will ripen fast enough that we might actually get some melons.

 

[kittiekat]

What an awesome 2013! Happy New Year everyone!

 

[moolie]

Had particularly great success this past summer with Pollock early tomatoes, Utah celery, Valmaine lettuce, Chantennay carrots, and I still have two gorgeous spaghetti squash left that I harvested back in early October (great keepers!), so those are all on the list again for this year. We'll also grow the usual peas, yellow snap beans, corn, cardoon, parsnips, green and bulb onions, yellow zucchini, radishes, beets as well as raspberries, strawberries, and two apple varieties.

Plan to add more squash varieties--particularly Delicata--and also Leeks (haven't grown them before). Haven't done with all the seed catalogs/sites just yet so there may be more!

 

[Suzannah]

This year I used a panel of windows from old garage doors I had replaced to make a cold frame on my raised bed. These salad greens and radishes are still doing well - even after being picked over three times.

 

[MidwestAmber]

Everything! I had to tend my foster family's tomato garden about uh....14 years ago. I've got my dear Nana by my side though! We haven't decided officially whats going in though I do have a bag full of seed packets I picked up on sale a few months ago. Hoping to find a way to make all the following work...
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Spinach
Cucumbers
All the typical herbs
Potatoes
Peppers, peppers, and more types of peppers
Carrots
Beans
Peas
hmm...just thought about corn...lulz...i wonder...

 

[Smart Red]

I am sure there will be a few new veggies once I am done drooling over garden catalogs and place my orders, but I have a lot of seed from last year and from saving this 2013's seed. The 'new to me' variety that I am excited about is CLOUDBERRIES. After seeking seed or plants for over eight years, I was given 16 seeds. I treated the seeds for a week and today I planted them.

I am so excited!

 

[Denim Deb]

Never heard of them. I'm picturing you raising clouds-which might be good if there's a drought.

I'm planning on planting some amaranth this year along the west side of my house to block the sun, as well as try it for food.

 

[DimondaleBergs]

We are trying several new types of tomatoes this year...Mortgage Lifters, Brandywine Pink, and Marglobe. We are also trying several types of lettuce...Tom Thumb, Black Seeded Simpson Leaf, and Buttercrunch. And last, but not least, we are doing a REAL herb garden. So I'm going to get a bay plant, and some dill to go with the standard herbs.

 

[DimondaleBergs]

We have of course DE that we use for the chickens and such. Anywho last year my mom was so sick of picking bugs and finding wormy veggies that she had me treat all her plants with it. We even put some in the soil on a few plants where we had issues before. Of course when it rains its all over but it was worth a try. So after every rain I would retreat what i could only using the DE. No potato bugs, none of those bugs that attack my vines, No horn worms. It worked great. With the potatoes dad put it on the ground after each rain and all over the plants. We have HUGE sweet potatoes. Potato crop was our best ever, no lost plants and my finger tips weren't orange ( yuck). This is the first year we did not lose a tomato plant too. We are buying a bulk bag again. We did try using nothing but honestly it felt a bit futile. This was our compromise.

Heather,
How much DE do you use? I have it for my chickens as well, and I love to try it for those annoying squash beetles! Oh, and maybe it would work on the cabbage worms too! lol
Thanks