Best strategy for “cutting garden” in small space!

[Anonymous]

Is the fence on the north side of the lot or the south side? If South, my experience has been that the base + 1-2 feet will not support full sun plants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’m in dc and produce a decent amount of compost each season but have never tried manure. I adore sweet peas and am willing to try! Do I buy it at a farmers market? Thank you for these wonderful ideas!

Floret sells a beautiful assortment of seeds, but you can get them pretty much anywhere.
I particularly like Swallowtail Gardens and Select Seeds.

[Anonymous]

OP back. That’s a great point about the fences and not having enough sun low to the ground. Maybe a tall raised bed is the best bet for accessing sunlight. Even though it will need more water and fertilizer than a bed… appreciate all the insights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’m in dc and produce a decent amount of compost each season but have never tried manure. I adore sweet peas and am willing to try! Do I buy it at a farmers market? Thank you for these wonderful ideas!

I’m the sweet pea suggestion and I grow them in zone 4B. They need to be started well ahead of when you guess as they can take temps down to 25 degrees without freezing, so I start them cool (alongside my patio door) in March (some places can plant them outside in the fall but I know DC gets down to zero sometimes). I presprout on a wet paper towel in a plastic bag and only plant those that sprout. They must be grown cool and with fairly bright light or they will get leggy and you’ll get nothing. Transplant out when it’s still cool.

Or maybe someone sells them at farmers market? I haven’t lived in DC in years and didn’t ever have a garden there anyway.

Floret’s sweet peas never work out for me. Ardelia Farms have been better, as have Swallowtail.

[Anonymous]

I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

I will admit that dahlias can be finicky but I will fight you on this point. Also happy dahlias bloom like crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

Dahlias are not expensive and they are not finicky. They grow like weeds for me.

[Anonymous]

Would poppies be a good choice ?

[Anonymous]

There is plenty of time left in the growing season. What if you were to try something yet this year and narrow down what works best for you and this location? Maybe that means pulling away the gravel, adding some compost and plant a few annuals. I was at the garden center this morning and there are still options. I think it is too warm to plant sweet peas at this point, but there should be something you like. Seeds may be an option, but look at the days to bloom/maturity. I just planted more zinnia seeds yesterday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

Dahlias are not expensive and they are not finicky. They grow like weeds for me.

C'mon -- one Dahlia bulb costs between $5-$10.

A pack of Zinnia seeds will run you $3 and will grow 10-30 plants!

My zinnias and cosmos are in full bloom right now. Are your dahlias? And when you cut them, do they rebook within the week?

I mean, I love dahlias, but compared to zinnias and cosmos, yes, they are finicky.

[Anonymous]

rebloom not rebook!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

I will admit that dahlias can be finicky but I will fight you on this point. Also happy dahlias bloom like crazy.

Here's a whole article on Dahlia Zinnias.

https://minnetonkaorchards.com/dahlia-zinnias/#:~:text=Dahlia%20zinnias%20are%20part%20of,important%20to%20make%20this%20distinction.

And here's a pic of a Dahlia Zinnia. Not identical, Dahlias can be massive! But in the same ballpark to a new/casual gardener.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

Dahlias are not expensive and they are not finicky. They grow like weeds for me.

C'mon -- one Dahlia bulb costs between $5-$10.

A pack of Zinnia seeds will run you $3 and will grow 10-30 plants!

My zinnias and cosmos are in full bloom right now. Are your dahlias? And when you cut them, do they rebook within the week?

I mean, I love dahlias, but compared to zinnias and cosmos, yes, they are finicky.

You’re choosing to buy expensive dahlias. I get mine from Costco. A bag of 10 tubers cost $10 a couple of years ago. Brent and Becky’s also has them for reasonable prices. I also shop the end of the season sales at Bluestone Perennials and get each tuber for $3 or less.
I start my tubers inside early and many of my plants are already flowering. I have so many that something is always in bloom. There’s no way a zinnia can hold a candle to my Holly Huston, Otto’s Thrill or Labyrinth. I also grow the smaller flowered, single and orchid dahlias that bloom much earlier than the dinner plates.
I have nothing against zinnias or any other flowers, but I want to dispel the myth that dahlias are difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

Dahlias are not expensive and they are not finicky. They grow like weeds for me.

It depends on the soil! If you create the right type of soil for them, they do great and the tubers multiply, so you always have a supply for the next growing season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP back. PP, I absolutely love Claus Dalby and how he arranges his pots! I discovered him through an interview on the Floret blog.

Also love presenter Nick Bailey’s all container “border” https://www.instagram.com/p/CrGtyJDKlNS/?img_index=1

I also happen to just love pots. Bergs, Whichford, etc. The problem is the ones I can afford are too small to grow enough of the flowers I seem to want for cutting. So I’m deciding between huge plastic containers, raised wooden boxes and beds

Homegoods, Marshalls, etc often have large ceramic pots that are affordable.