Harvesting should be in full swing about now (depending on where you live) so it is a great time to begin considering your plan for fall and winter seasons.

Begin or continue composting garden/lawn wastes as you tidy for winter.

You could also sow a green manure crop such as crimson clover, vetch or field peas, in empty spaces in your garden or flower bed. Green manures suppress weeds and add nitrogen and organic matter when dug in next spring.

We here at VegeNag would love to see some of the “fruits of your labors”. Please send us a couple photos or links to your successes this year.

aaron @ vegenag.com

I tried some new varieties this year of peppers. I do not like really hot peppers, so up until now, I have only planted sweet peppers. This year, however, I discovered “Fooled You” jalapeno peppers and, of course, I love banana peppers so I decided to give them a try. What a success.

I am having a great harvest and we are going to use some for salads and salsas, but mostly we will store them by pickling them together and using for nachos or other dishes.

Here are a few keys to success with peppers that you might consider for next year if you struggled this year:

• Good complete fertilizer before you plant (16-16-8 with ironite) is what I used. You should check your soil and figure out what is best for you.
• Additional feedings 4 and 8 weeks after transplanting with, at least, ammonium sulfate (Nitrogen 20-0-0).
• Black plastic mulch to retain moisture and prevent weeds
• Water once a week deeply, but infrequently.

We started ours from seed indoors before transplanting them out into the garden allowing us to get the varieties we wanted and saved a bunch of money by not having to buy starts.

For the proper dates on when to plant peppers or for a customized planting guide for your area go to VegeNag.com and sign up for a free account.

Many people have compost piles, and if you are like me, you don’t manage them very efficiently. Since I am not a fan of managing my pile to break everything down quickly, I tend to have non-composted material in my compost pile this time of year. You can either not add this material to the garden yet or you can till it in at least 4 weeks before you plant. I do the latter.

As soon as I can work the soil without jambing up the tiller or making a muddy mess, I perform this operation. It is critical to do as early as you can so that there is sufficient time for the composting to occur before you plant. Give yourself at least a month.

Here is how I do it. First, I spread out all of the compost pile in the garden whether it is finished composting or not. I then spread nitrogen over top the places I added the compost. Just sprinkle it around like you are salting a steak. You will need this nitrogen since a lot will be used during the composting process and you don’t want to “drain” of soil of the critical nutrient. At this point you may also add other amendments to your soil such as leaves or peat moss. Finally, just till it all in or turn the soil over with a shovel if you don’t have a tiller.

This process of adding amendments to your soil is so helpful and it makes your soil much much better every year. Not only does it make it more loamy and easier to work, but it lowers the pH and it adds a lot of critical nutrients to your soil. If you don’t need to lower your pH in your area like I do in mine, then consider adding lime to your soil during this process.

Here is what my soil looks like after I just did this to my garden. In about a month most all of the amendments will be composted.

Many of those I talk to feel that gardening is expensive and that it would be cheaper to buy produce from the store. I guess that you can make an argument that if you take your labor and multiply it by an average labor rate and then estimate the land costs of your garden cost while adding in the cost for your water and gardening tools then it is possible that it is cheaper to buy from the store.

That being said, realistically we should only count cost incurred from actually having a garden vs. not having one. That would be things like money for seeds, fertilizer, special mulches and the occasional tool. According to a recent study done by the National Gardening Association in 2008, the average food gardener spends $70 a year on their garden. The average gardener has a 600 sq.ft plot for their garden. Given a $2 per pound average produce price and 1/2 lbs per sq.ft of produce produced (according to the study). That is an average of $600 of produce produced per gardener. If you subtract the $70 investment. That is a $530 return on investment or a 757% return on your money. In times of economic uncertainty, what could be better than that?

This return is consistent with my experiences. Last year, I estimate that we produced over $1000 in produce and we probably invested just under $200 into it. Of course, if you are not successful in your garden then you will just waste your money on a bunch of dead plants. That is why I suggest you read the posts in the blog to help in your efforts. Also, our “nag” service will be coming soon. So keep your eyes out for the roll out.

After pouring through 10+ seed catalogs, I have determined what I will order and from who. I make this post to give you an idea of things that you should consider when planning your garden.

First, do it early. Seed growers only have a certain amount of seeds and when they run out they can’t produce more until next year. Also you want to get them shipped to you in a timely manner so that you have them on hand to begin growing when it comes time.

Next, look at different catalogs. While I only ordered from 2 different catalogs, each catalog had something different to offer that met my particular needs. Many times I will focus on some special thing I am looking for and then if the price is right, I will order the other stuff from them that is the same in most other catalogs.

For example, I am trying to get broccoli and cauliflower to grow in the Spring here in Utah. This is very difficult and I have not yet had great success since it gets too hot, too early, so I looked for the earliest ones I could find. I found ‘Major’ broccolli at 43 days from transplant and ‘Silver Cup’ cauliflower at 40 days. Both were at PineTree Garden Seeds. They have great prices so I also ordered my carrots, beets, peas and so forth from them.This will be my first year ordering from them, so I will let you know if I have any problems with fulfillment or service etc.

Prices is another consideration when deciding who to order from. Some have good prices, but high shipping rates. Some have high prices, but give large coupons like Henry Fields. They give $25 off an order of $50 making it 50% off everything. And some have high prices, but very reliable service, selection and premium seeds. I would put Stokes in that category. In the end, seeds are really cheap. I got everything I needed for a huge garden for a whole year and I will have a ton of extra seeds for about $35. Therefore, I wouldn’t concern yourself with seed prices, check for shipping rates and such since that could be a bigger hit in the end. I spent 25% this year just on shipping.

Last, try new stuff and don’t get stuck with one variety just because it comes with a ton of seeds. If you want to try two different onions like a red onion and a yellow onion then order both. I know that they each come with 300 seeds, but they are only $1-2 each.

I just ordered 5 different kinds of tomatoes, one early variety, 2 beefsteak variety, one paste variety and one cherry tomato. I will get about 25 seeds per pack for 125 seeds. I am only growing 6 different plants. Assuming no loss, that would take me over 20 years to plant all the seeds. I estimate that I will grow over 400 tomatoes from the $12 that I spent on the seeds. Don’t worry about wasting seeds, give them away or throw away, but have fun with growing different varieties.

Please let me know your experiences this year or in year’s past with seed companies. I have ordered from a handful, but would love to hear about your experiences.

There are many seed companies out there so I will tell you what I think of some of them and which are my favorite. Keep in mind I am focusing on vegetables and fruits with these companies, many of them sell flowers, but that is not my thing.

Local nurseries are a great resource also and I buy my starts and supplies from them, however, sometimes they don’t have varieties that I want or they don’t sell quality seeds, that is why I go to one of these places for seeds.

Seed Catalogs

Burpee-Pretty large selection, good catalog to have, I heard somewhere that they mix their old seeds with the new year’s seeds, but I could be wrong.

Henry Field’s- good selection, good quality, good catalog to have. I have not been happy with their shipping schedule, I always get my plants too late so I only order seeds from them, even then I got some seeds later than I wanted.

Harris Seeds- decent selection, never ordered from yet.

Territorial Seed Company- My favorite catalog from a description standpoint. Lots of selection. Must order this catalog.

Park Seed- I like this one alot too. Good information, great selection, I even like the emails they send with all kinds of good information. Seeds came fast. I do most of my ordering here if I can.

Stokes- Probably the most comprehensive. Tons of varieties and they have been in the business a long time. Must have this catalog. They can be expensive.

PineTree Garden Seeds- I just received their catalog this year (2010) and I am really happy with their prices and varieties. I have moved this one up the list and this is quickly becoming a must have.

Specialty catalogs

Indiana Berry Farm- Best catalog for berries, grapes, asparagus, rhubarb, etc. I found many varities in this catalog that I couldn’t get anywhere else. I also like how can choose the ship date.

Nourse Farms- This is also a good berry farm.

Sakuma Bros- This is an online market for berries and such. I have found berries here that I could not find elsewhere. Good price too.

Tomato Growers- Specializes in tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Over 500 varieties. I love this catalog.

Vermont Bean Seed- Specialize in beans. They have so many beans it can be overwhelming

Others (I have no experience with ordering from these, but I get their catalogs and you may like them)

• www.abundantlifeseeds.com (certified organic)
• www.gurneys.com
• www.johnnyseeds.com
• www.jungseed.com
• www.nicholsgardennursery.com
• www.twilleyseed.com
• www.willhiteseed.com

Let me know of others and if you have good/bad experiences with any of these.

Pick the ones that you like and then go to their website and request a catalog.

Updated: 12-27-09