Mar 4, 2009

(old photo, two of these are brimming with beets and radishes)

With all of this rain, we're aching to get outside and start planting again!

While we're busy planning some more drought-tolerant and native plantings, I would really really really love for our new planter boxes to be mega-producers and to start taking the place of my vegetable buying trips to the grocery store.

Here's the thing: I don't really know how to approach the vegetable garden. I have this book which is pretty straight forward and simple, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what to plant and when to plant it.

Right now our boxes are filled with beets and radishes and one broccoli plant. I just planted some leeks and green onions 'fore the rain went nuts. But I need some help. I know you're supposed to plant what you buy but the planning part is what's hard for me to figure out....

Is there a secret resource out there that I'm staring straight at? Anyone have a simple go-to calendar for the Oakland area?
I want someone to tell me what to plant and when to plant it. I feel like this veggie garden is kind of like a recipe. The first time it's extremely helpful to have exact instructions to follow. After that, everything is up for tweaking.

Also, any great seed catalogs or online sites that are pretty local?

3 comments:

Carlene said...

I was just planning my veggie garden, for the first time ever. My mom has been doing it forever, but this is my first time on my own. Here is a good link for beginners (although I can plainly see you're not as "beginner" as I am):

http://tinyurl.com/djbn6q

You are in zone 9b (I think), here is a chart of when to plant:

http://tinyurl.com/dkkdr5

Wolfie and the Sneak said...

You Grow Girl has a seed starting chart I go to every year. You do need to know your last frost date, but the Farmer's Almanac is linked to on the YGG page.

And while you're there, take a gander around for lots of advice on veggies.

Good luck with the garden!

Shayna said...

Carlene: That's such a great article! Thank you..somehow makes me feel much less intimidated. Itching to get planting now.

Wolfie: Really great website. Holy moly, I just spent a good hour perusing...thank you!