Well my garden is just getting underway in Southwest Ohio, so it's unlikely to impress any experienced gardeners. But, I do have a small garlic patch, about 3' by 8', that is very impressive to me. There are about three dozen hardneck garlic plants that have been growing there since last October. Some of them are almost three feet tall, and I am just seeing the beginning of a scape or two. I planted these as a bit of a lark, but now I think I may have a pretty good harvest in a month or two.

This was my second year of growing potatoes. The first year was an absolute joke-- I didn't realize I should continue to bury the stalks of the plants to encourage tuber growth.

This year I dug trenches into a 3x10" area of my garden and backfilled the eyes with compost and loam. Within the two weeks of relentless rain and hot daytime temps every single eye has sprouted/grown past the soil level.

Another impressive plant for me this year is Stevia. I didn't realize that it was a native to the Americas, and it's taken wonderfully in my garden. The flowers are the most impressive to me; they're delicate and make for a nice sight when I'm ripping off stevia during weeding (as a snack, anyone?) ;)

Donna,

It could have been a post of mine where you heard of Nevada lettuce. I never miss a chance to recommend it. Everyone I know who has tried it has been impressed as you have. It's crisp and crunchy and holds forever in the garden without bolting. Also, it is nice looking.

Nevada is a Batavian type lettuce. There are others. I am currently growing an Italian one called Batavia Bionda Bordo Rosso because this year I ordered all my seeds from Seeds From Italy.

Jim

I've been growing Nevada for years. If I could only grow one lettuce, no question it would be Nevada.

But this year, with the rainfall, all my lettuce is impressive. I just picked beautiful heads of Nevada and Jericho romaine, and the iceberg [Summertime] is well on the road to making iceberg heads, which is often a crapshoot here.

I raised Skyphos red butterhead lettuce this spring...try it..you will love it.

So this is my first year gardening. In impressed with my self. My hubby laughed at me when i told him that i was gonna start a garden. I am known to have a black thumb. So i started my own seeds inside but that didn't quite work out. Lots of newbie mistakes but i learned a lot. Its the process right. So then it took weeks to get the garden
itself ready another learning experience and a lot of work. I did it all wrong. I found this forum a little to late. Now i know what to do this fall to better prepare my soil for spring. Another lesson learned. So Im impressed with myself. I have proved my hubby wrong and Im having fun. The only thing in not impressed with is my lettuce so ill have to try this Nevada lettuce you are talking about where can i get it? I live in middle Tennessee and Im limited to were i have to shop. I just signed up for a ton of mail order catalogues last night. Lol I even find myself dreaming about gardening.

Here, among many other sources.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nevada lettuce seeds

Thanks I ordered one of their catalogues last night.

Here is another source for Nevada lettuce seeds.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Sand Hill Preservation Center

Yes, indeed! I had a Nevada salad for lunch today. It really is wonderful and the babies that came up late are still growing and not bolting. I am going to keep a close eye on this one. It would be wonderful to find a lettuce that I could grow even through part of the summer here.

CB, good for you. Everyone starts somewhere and we were all newbies once. The difference between wanna be gardeners and experienced gardeners is perseverance and a willingness to learn.

Dreaming of gardening? You've got it bad...just like the rest of us. If you haven't already, use some of your hot weather downtime to read a good basic gardening book or two. That will put you years ahead of learning by trial and error alone.

donnabaskets, do you have any titles to recommend? My family is trying our first small veggie garden this year, and I would love to have more sources of information.

Certainly. One excellent one is Growing Vegetables and Herbs by Taunton Press. (They have a great website too and you can get free e-mails with information from their late lamented Vegetable Gardener magazine.)

The Bountiful Container by McGee & Stuckey is really great for those who want to grow vegetables in containers.

If you live in the south, The Southern Living Garden Book is a must.

Also, remember that your local Agricultural Extension Agent is a wonderful source for regional, FREE information.

I would just add that although we are all enamored with plants (of course), successful gardening of any kind is ever and always about healthy soil. Read those sections of any of these books carefully!

Thanks, I'll give some of those a look. I've read nearly everything my extension has put out.

With the weather being so crazy this year I wasn't able to get the start on my soil that I wanted, but I did manage to work a bit of OM (compost and peat) in to my otherwise clayey ground when I double dug a 10x10 plot of lawn for this bed. This year is essentially a trial period to see how the family takes to it. If my wife and (homeschool) kids and I prove up to the challenge then I plan to build a bunch of raised beds and dedicate a larger section of yard to producing even more kinds of food.

I am impressed this year with my tomato plants I started indoors under lights. I was really looking forward to trying a few new [to me] varieties and did not want to get my hopes up but most of them are doing very well. The Brandywines red and yellow gave up but the others are big and blooming. It was very encouraging to try more varieties next year. Bring on the canners.
kim

donnabaskets, Have you tried Skyphos red butter head lettuce? It is green/white tinged red and sweet and crispy.