And now the Questions begin!

So we have the garden all prepped, I think the soil is pretty good (only time will tell)... So where do you start? This is the confusing part! I had 4 different bulbs, 9 different seeds, tomatoes we had already started from seed, as well as zucchini's and some store bought tomato and pepper plants... My head began to spin!

How do you plant potatoes? What are bush beans, and do I need to trellis them? Pickling Cukes, to trellis or not? What can tolerate the drier (desert zone) soil? Can I trellis along the fence? The list of questions keep going on and on!

So what does a person do? Well if you're me you turn to Facebook!! YES, I am a facebook junkie. I asked lots of questions, got tons of different answers to the same question, and was more confused then I was when I started! So next I started surfing... looking for local information when possible (which is next to impossible)... The information continued to be very contradicting!

So as a last resort I started searching each seed and bulb and seeing what I could find out about them. I did manage to find out some info about a few, but decided I would document what I did with each, simply as a reference for next year.... So if it worked, I can do it again, and if it does not... we we can try something new!

Red Pontiac Potatoes (Peak of the Market)---- Searching these really didn't give me much info other then they don't store well (so watch I will get a bumper crop, and end up with potatoes coming out my yingyang that need to be eaten up immediately!)

Potatoes in general, are actually kinda neat! I always thought they were a "root" veggie... but no! They grow off the stem of the potato plant, so the more stem that is underground, the better your harvest should be. So I decided we would dig a hole 3" deep and hill each seed potato, and as the green grows we will cover it up with mulch and compost, building our hills as high as we can. We are also considering trying some container planting of potatoes... Which, if found I will do in burlap sacks (I have a friend her in Calgary, who has some "farming" contacts, and is trying for me), but I have some black rubbermaid totes, that we might drill some holes in and give them ago.... I will keep you updated on this if we proceed.

Garlic (McKenzie Garlic Bulbs) ---- Theses came with minimal instruction. Spacing was provided, and we followed it, but whether our location will work, is a whole other question!

Mulitplier Onions (McKenzie Multiplier Onions, early green) ---- Again theses came with minimal instruction. Spacing was provided, and we followed it, but whether our location will work, is a whole other question!

Cucumber, National Pickling (McKenzie) ---- Spacing information provided, and that they require soil rich in compost.... So we sprinkled the seed (I have no patients for laying tiny seeds individually, and will thin once seedling come in), and as stated previously I think the soil is good! But the confusing part!! How much sun and to trellis or not? Well... after struggling with a layout that would work for everything, I decided to trellis against the fence.. this is probably not the best idea, but with very limited space, it was the most suitable. So if it works, great! if not... we will try something else next year!

Peas, Sugar Sprint -Edible Pod (McKenzie)---- Spacing information provided, and that was it! We followed the suggested spacing as stated. So after searching the net, I would out that Sugar Sprint are a bush pea, and do not require trellising! This is great news, as I was trying to figure out were I could fit another trellis in without blocking to much sun.

Zucchini, Dark Green (The Garden Corner) ---- These we started in the house, just for the heck of it! As I told the boys they are easy to grow.... and I didnt lie! We had 23 seeds in our pack, and 20 of them germinated... nice strong seedlings! A little leggy, but that is my fault for not providing them enough sunlight. the instructions state to plant these in hills and 3-4 per hill, so we will be doing so once we get some nice weather.

Turnips, Laurentian Gold (The Garden Corner) ---- Again, these seeds are so tiny, and I have no patients, so we sprinkled them and will thin once the seedling start. Package recommends placing 2-3 seeds every 4", then thin, to 1 every 4", so we will do that once the seedlings come in. Now when I researched these online, they say they are rutabaga, not turnips, but honestly what the heck is the difference?

Beets, Detroit Dark Red Supreme (The Garden Corner) ---- Again itty bitty seeds! So we sprinkled them again, and will thin, but as stated we will utilize the greens and thin them down so the remaining can grow and mature fully. I have no clue what beet greens taste like, but hopefully we will find out this year! The beet root will become pickle beets, as I have never liked beets (not that I have had them much in my life thou).... Pickle beets are yummy!

Beans (Bush) Round Pod Kidney Wax (McKenzie) ---- Well, for the heck of it, we started 2 of these in peat pucks, and both germinated. We also start some in wet paper towel.. a few of those have germinated, but several did not. Those were just for fun! But we have planted them outside straight in the ground (as this is actually recommended as bean seeds rot easily) We will thin these down once the seedlings grow a bit, to about 5-6" as the spacing is recommended.

Yellow Onion Sets (Peak of the Market) ---- Again these actually came with directions, idiot proof pictures, which are wonderful! They also state that they are good for any normal garden soil (whatever that means)

Radish, Sparkler White Tip (McKenzie) ---- Sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle... Does anyone actually place these seeds individually? It is actually recommended on the package to plant these in the same row as onions or parsnips (gross!), so I have planted these side by side with the Yellow Onion Sets.... and will possibly reseed in mid July also, for another harvest.

Lettuce, Early Curled Simpson (McKenzie) ---- Sprinkled again... and will think to about 6-8" as recommended when seedling start popping up!

Spinach, Long Standing Bloomsdale (Garden Corner) ---- Sprinkled and will thin. I really hope this one comes.... I can just imagine how good garden spinach would be!! These are meant to be spaced 1" apart, so not much thinning should be needed.

Lettuce, Romaine (McKenzie) ---- these we sprinkled again... and will thin to about 8". I am a little concerned about the hot summer days that lay ahead, but we will have to see what happens..... Next years I might plant the lettuce behind a low trellised object to help provide some shade on those hot hot summer days.

Last but not least:

Carrot, Tendersweet Long Hybrid (McKenzie) ---- We planted these were we did as the soil is sandy right there (we had a sand box for the kids right beside this for many years, and tons of sand found its way into the ground in this area. My research on these carrots are that they take forever to mature, but when they do, they are huge and very very sweet... so hopefully we will have some luck, and get some yummy carrots, that we can simply pull, wipe on the pants and eat!