2026 garden plan (open to critique)

snarfing

snarfing

Well-known member
Hi all. Last frost mid april, first in novemeber. First time doing this much vegetable garden and wondering where improvements can be made. All beds are 8x4 feet. First frost is in November, last frost is in april. Usda heat zone 5 and hardy zone 7a/b.
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My initial thoughts: will i be able to plant again after potatoes or my honeynut /watermelon bed you think? Do need so.ething after bushbeans or can i just keep planting those till frost? I put my heavy pest pressure plants in one bed so i can maybe spray them if i want (brassica and summer squash)
 

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No onion or garlic? I only ask as they're also early crops where you can use the space again.

It's interesting to see what others prioritize in their gardens. Figs aside....... my in ground space is probably 80% tomato with the rest being onion, garlic, cucumber, beans. I probably grow 1/3 as many pepper plants as I do tomato but almost all the peppers are in pots.

Typically I'll do the cooler weather crops like beans in the garlic/onion beds after that comes out as it still has time. Same with other cooler weather crops like mustard, arugula and a few other greens that I can keep growing right up until frost.

I'm impressed that you can grow broccoli. I tend to get puny heads for the plant size to it's been a lot of space for little food.

Very nice.... I also fund myself thinking about this when the seed catalogs start to arrive :)
 
TorontoJoe said:
No onion or garlic? I only ask as they're also early crops where you can use the space again.

It's interesting to see what others prioritize in their gardens. Figs aside....... my in ground space is probably 80% tomato with the rest being onion, garlic, cucumber, beans. I probably grow 1/3 as many pepper plants as I do tomato but almost all the peppers are in pots.

Typically I'll do the cooler weather crops like beans in the garlic/onion beds after that comes out as it still has time. Same with other cooler weather crops like mustard, arugula and a few other greens that I can keep growing right up until frost.

I'm impressed that you can grow broccoli. I tend to get puny heads for the plant size to it's been a lot of space for little food.

Very nice.... I also fund myself thinking about this when the seed catalogs start to arrive :)
Click to expand...
I do well with sprouting broccoli types. Trying asparbroc this year as well. For me they have much much better yield. I agree with heading broccoli though, waste of space.

I am the only one who eats tomatoes in my house and I only like them fresh and sliced so half a bed is fine for me.

Onions: hard for me to get excited for, but i grow leeks. Ill probably do garlic next year just because I want to see what the hype is but im a dreaded jarred garlic user and I only get through like half a jar before it goes bad lol. Id consider onions more generally too but something about buying a small onion to yield one larger onion pisses me off lol. but I am growing bunching onions and leeks :)
 
snarfing said:
I do well with sprouting broccoli types. Trying asparbroc this year as well. For me they have much much better yield. I agree with heading broccoli though, waste of space.

I am the only one who eats tomatoes in my house and I only like them fresh and sliced so half a bed is fine for me.

Onions: hard for me to get excited for, but i grow leeks. Ill probably do garlic next year just because I want to see what the hype is but im a dreaded jarred garlic user and I only get through like half a jar before it goes bad lol. Id consider onions more generally too but something about buying a small onion to yield one larger onion pisses me off lol. but I am growing bunching onions and leeks :)
Click to expand...

That asparbroc looks good. Looks to grow more like rapini…. Which also love

I don’t grow onions for volume. There are a few types that I can’t buy here that I really enjoy. I grow Red Tropea onions from seed. I start early in spring then transplant as early as possible. They don’t store a long but sweet as candy

If you just want to try the garlic without too much commitment, they grow well between other crops like the tomatoes.
 
TorontoJoe said:
That asparbroc looks good. Looks to grow more like rapini…. Which also love

I don’t grow onions for volume. There are a few types that I can’t buy here that I really enjoy. I grow Red Tropea onions from seed. I start early in spring then transplant as early as possible. They don’t store a long but sweet as candy

If you just want to try the garlic without too much commitment, they grow well between other crops like the tomatoes.
Click to expand...
are those a bunching onion? they sort of look like it. I wasnt aware onions from seed was a thing, i thought that basically it would take several years if you grew from seed. maybe i'll plant some in between rows? is that reasonable?

The leeks are my favorite allium by far, and i do plan on trying elephant garlic eventually since i think its meant to taste like a leek in some way as well. I'll do that for the garlic next year though, i think i missed out on ordering it for 2026
 
snarfing said:
are those a bunching onion? they sort of look like it. I wasnt aware onions from seed was a thing, i thought that basically it would take several years if you grew from seed. maybe i'll plant some in between rows? is that reasonable?

The leeks are my favorite allium by far, and i do plan on trying elephant garlic eventually since i think its meant to taste like a leek in some way as well. I'll do that for the garlic next year though, i think i missed out on ordering it for 2026
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Nope... I start seeds every spring... earlier than other seeds by maybe 4 weeks. They bulb just fine for me

www.growitalian.com

Onion Tropea Rossa Lunga (43-25)

A famous speciality from Calabria, where the seed is still produced. The Tropea Rossa Lunga onion itself has DOP status. It is said to be so sweet you can almost eat it like an apple. With such a high sugar content, it carmelizes well. A mid early variety with large, elongated bulbs and...
www.growitalian.com www.growitalian.com

and

www.growitalian.com

Onion Tropea Rossa Tonda (43-22)

This is one of the most famous onions in Italy and is the central point of a food festival, the Onion Festival of Tropea in July. Medium long day type, mid season. Round, red/pink on outside, becomes white in the center. If picked as baby, it is all white. Very sweet. Approximately 250-400 seeds...
www.growitalian.com www.growitalian.com

I do all my bulbing onions this way though. If I want to save some seed I just leave a few in the ground and let them flower the following year
 
snarfing said:
I do well with sprouting broccoli types. Trying asparbroc this year as well. For me they have much much better yield. I agree with heading broccoli though, waste of space.

I am the only one who eats tomatoes in my house and I only like them fresh and sliced so half a bed is fine for me.

Onions: hard for me to get excited for, but i grow leeks. Ill probably do garlic next year just because I want to see what the hype is but im a dreaded jarred garlic user and I only get through like half a jar before it goes bad lol. Id consider onions more generally too but something about buying a small onion to yield one larger onion pisses me off lol. but I am growing bunching onions and leeks :)
Click to expand...
You can consider the Egyptian walking onion or potatoes onions. You will never have to buy onions again as these are called multiplier onions which are very prolific. 1 onions becomes 4 onions in Spring and the 4 onions becomes 8 onions in the fall in my gardening conditions.
 
Tiger garden said:
You can consider the Egyptian walking onion or potatoes onions. You will never have to buy onions again as these are called multiplier onions which are very prolific. 1 onions becomes 4 onions in Spring and the 4 onions becomes 8 onions in the fall in my gardening conditions.
Click to expand...
ive seen these but i need to look more into them, do you grow them? Leeks are actually a perennial, if you let them go they grow new ones and you just divide them out. part of why i grow them, also cause i love them
 
Something I just learned about artichoke, the plants need vernalized. It's usually a biennial, so if you are trying to grow it as an annual the plant will need to go in cooler temperatures (under 50F) for a week or so. I had big giant plants this year, but no flower.
 
Tjs5179 said:
Something I just learned about artichoke, the plants need vernalized. It's usually a biennial, so if you are trying to grow it as an annual the plant will need to go in cooler temperatures (under 50F) for a week or so. I had big giant plants this year, but no flower.
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i think this is covered by my plan, i am going to try and keep it alive through the winter by mulching them but not sure if they'll make it.
 
snarfing said:
i think this is covered by my plan, i am going to try and keep it alive through the winter by mulching them but not sure if they'll make it.
Click to expand...

I haven’t grown them for a few years but artichoke did really well up here. Much better than I expected. I accidentally let some go to flower and was blown away… absolutely beautiful and I don’t think I’d ever had more bees visit.
 
TorontoJoe said:
I haven’t grown them for a few years but artichoke did really well up here. Much better than I expected. I accidentally let some go to flower and was blown away… absolutely beautiful and I don’t think I’d ever had more bees visit.
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if youve never seen them, check out cardoon. I know a lot of people grow them because you eat the stems and leaves and therefore can let it go to flower every year. might grow it next time if artichoke doesnt treat me well.
 
TorontoJoe said:
No onion or garlic? I only ask as they're also early crops where you can use the space again.

It's interesting to see what others prioritize in their gardens. Figs aside....... my in ground space is probably 80% tomato with the rest being onion, garlic, cucumber, beans. I probably grow 1/3 as many pepper plants as I do tomato but almost all the peppers are in pots.

Typically I'll do the cooler weather crops like beans in the garlic/onion beds after that comes out as it still has time. Same with other cooler weather crops like mustard, arugula and a few other greens that I can keep growing right up until frost.

I'm impressed that you can grow broccoli. I tend to get puny heads for the plant size to it's been a lot of space for little food.

Very nice.... I also fund myself thinking about this when the seed catalogs start to arrive :)
Click to expand...
I've grown several broccoli varieties here and noticed the same as you described, but some do quite well.
figs-508.jpg

Broccolini seem to do a lot better though. Especially in the fall... Those that ripen in June haven't been great for size, so I stopped growing them in spring. Cauliflower seems to do well both in Spring and Fall here.
 
Figgin' A said:
I've grown several broccoli varieties here and noticed the same as you described, but some do quite well.
figs-508.jpg

Broccolini seem to do a lot better though. Especially in the fall... Those that ripen in June haven't been great for size, so I stopped growing them in spring. Cauliflower seems to do well both in Spring and Fall here.
Click to expand...
Just a pic off Google. But I grow sprouting broccoli which instead of forming 1 big head forms a bunch of smaller ones. And when you cut it it will sprout 1-3 more times.

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Looks like above.
 
Figgin' A said:
I've grown several broccoli varieties here and noticed the same as you described, but some do quite well.
figs-508.jpg

Broccolini seem to do a lot better though. Especially in the fall... Those that ripen in June haven't been great for size, so I stopped growing them in spring. Cauliflower seems to do well both in Spring and Fall here.
Click to expand...

It’s too bad because I do love eating it. Growing it I generally end up eating more leaves than heads… they do make nice chips dehydrated
 
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