Vietnamese Garden

[lindal24 1]

So I've picked up a new hobby (gardening) and this weekend I constructed two (2) - 4 foot by 8 foot raised beds in my back yard. My question now is what would you recommend I plant? I've got the following covered, but let me know if I'm missing something:

in 1' x 1'plot square in raised beds:

cucumbers x4

cabbage x4

American squash x4

bell peppers x3 (red, green, yellow)

hot peppers (ot) x1

chives

green onions

shallots

oinions

cilantro x2

parsley x2

culantro

corriander

scallions

dill

lemon grass x2

mint

basil

tomatoes x4

okra x4

brocolli x4

califlower

watercress

bak choy

beansprouts

VN corriander (rau ram) x4

rau muong x4

salad mixes x4

lettuce x4

in separate containers:

daikon x2

carrots x2

bitter melon

hairy gourd

eggplant

pennywort

sugar cane

I get the feeling I'm missing something "BIG"!

[BinhJerome 14]

You need 3 more containers :-) Each plant should have about 3 feet between it and the next for it to grow the best, I made the same mistake last year as you are now, and I had plants growing into plants, they did produce, and good, but it was a nightmare, and I ended up pulling up every other tomato plant. But I would reccomend some cyanne peppers, and some Halapeno and then a good plant was a cowhorn pepper plant, maybe not so Asain, but all great peppers that they loved when I brought them to Vietnam, and dont forget the tabasco pepper plants or the habaneros. Good luck, gardening is fun and relaxing, the one thing I will miss for a while untill we buy our own house. Jerome

[Darnell 8,478]

you need to trip in to Houston soon, to Viet Hoa superstore (and the SUN wholesale place right next to it ), bring yer lass, and buy some more seeds - they have 'vietnamese' vegetables seed recently - I noticed it this weekend.

It's on the Beltway - so if yer coming in on I-10, take Beltway 8 south - you'll see it within 7 miles.

Good Luck !

[luckytxn 2,264]

Try to throw in some spinach. Easy to grow and after it starts it keeps on and on and makes great salads or in soups. I grew up gardening and love it. When I come off the road I plan on having a huge one again.

As a side note the one thing I grew that was special to me was melons. Need a tad larger place for it though. If you try this though germinate the seeds first at least a few days.

[Bernie C 24]

My gosh - so much - my mouth is watering. And your very lucky too - we are just thinking about stating something but can do nothing yet since were still in the frost danger season here is NW Pennsylvania. We've got to wait about another month before we can plant anything.

Sounds great though - good luck.

I'll also have to build a fence so the bunnies don't nibble everthing up while I'm sleeping!

[lindal24 1]

My mom's going to give me alot of some of her plants this weekend, but I'll be sure to stop by Viet Hoa while I'm in Houston this week.

Our weather down here is real funky this year--we had freezing temps in March! But I believe that was the last of it...so we should be goo--Hopefully!

I had to put a fence around my garden...my little doggies kept jumping in and kicking my dirt out after I warned them not to jump into my garden! They're so cute though I just can't get mad at them...so I pulled out the fence!

I'm not a (hot) pepper person, but I've got one in there for my husband. I am going to grow bell peppers, so that should be good...I think!

My mom's going to give me alot of some of her plants this weekend, but I'll be sure to stop by Viet Hoa while I'm in Houston this week.

Our weather down here is real funky this year--we had freezing temps in March! But I believe that was the last of it...so we should be goo--Hopefully!

I had to put a fence around my garden...my little doggies kept jumping in and kicking my dirt out after I warned them not to jump into my garden! They're so cute though I just can't get mad at them...so I pulled out the fence!

[hniHnitsuJ 8]

So I've picked up a new hobby (gardening) and this weekend I constructed two (2) - 4 foot by 8 foot raised beds in my back yard. My question now is what would you recommend I plant? I've got the following covered, but let me know if I'm missing something:

in 1' x 1'plot square in raised beds:

cucumbers x4

cabbage x4

American squash x4

bell peppers x3 (red, green, yellow)

hot peppers (ot) x1

chives

green onions

shallots

oinions

cilantro x2

parsley x2

culantro

corriander

scallions

dill

lemon grass x2

mint

basil

tomatoes x4

okra x4

brocolli x4

califlower

watercress

bak choy

beansprouts

VN corriander (rau ram) x4

rau muong x4

salad mixes x4

lettuce x4

in separate containers:

daikon x2

carrots x2

bitter melon

hairy gourd

eggplant

pennywort

sugar cane

I get the feeling I'm missing something "BIG"!

Is all of these relating to any USCIS or NVC immigration process????? hihihi.. (J/K)

Linda, sound good!!! Yum Yum Please SHARE with ALL of us when you are done planning.

Do you need my Address from CALI..... hihih.. thanks in advances.,...

[ScottThuy 140]

wow, my post didnt go up yesterday...

Try to do more of fewer things and find out works good for you instead of trying to do so many... Having friends that are doing other veggies makes it fun to swap with others and get tips from them... as was stated spinach is an easy steady grower and can be reseeded as needed... not everything plays nice with each other and they dont all like the same sun/shade/soil/moisture... I have some things together... onions and peppers...okra with cabbage in between the rows. I have herbs all together and let one of each get big so it seeds and drops to grow again... most herbs will play nice with each other... squash and melons tend to get to be large plants.. larger than one would think... a minimum of 2-3 feet between... remeber that you will want things to grow all of the time so you will need to replant every so often... the area you have may seem large, but in the scheme of things and with the list you have.. it is way too much for a small place... get some marogolds and plant them around the outside of your garden.. bugs hate the smell of them and it will hlp you keep bugs out and add some fowers for the house from time to time... a good summer flower as well...

sweet potatoes can be easy and grow around other plants that are above ground more but all root veggies need a good quality loose soil....

I wish I had some Rau Muong seeds... it is so expensive to buy here at the market and if I had seeds it grows so fast...

[MichaelAndKha 0]

I wonder if US Customs allows you to declare seeds from Vietnam?

[ScottThuy 140]

A friend of mine is setting me up with a federal permit to import seeds... not all that easy to get and they have very strict guidelines on what must be done toget them in....

Edited April 18, 2010 by ScottThuy

[BinhJerome 14]

I wonder if US Customs allows you to declare seeds from Vietnam?

The answer is a big fat NO, unless you have the proper documents they will take every single one, about the only way around it is to mix them with things, and try to call it a salsa mix, this might work if you are wanting to bring back pepper seeds, throw in some cilantro with it and it may or may not work. But make sure that if you do bring it you declare it, if not it could cost you tons if they feel you were trying to "smuggle" it into the country, chances are they would not say anything if it were one or two seeds, they would probably just destroy them. But better to be safe than sorry. Jerome

[Kathryn41 3,205]

So I've picked up a new hobby (gardening) and this weekend I constructed two (2) - 4 foot by 8 foot raised beds in my back yard. My question now is what would you recommend I plant? I've got the following covered, but let me know if I'm missing something:

in 1' x 1'plot square in raised beds:

cucumbers x4

cabbage x4

American squash x4

bell peppers x3 (red, green, yellow)

hot peppers (ot) x1

chives

green onions

shallots

oinions

cilantro x2

parsley x2

culantro

corriander

scallions

dill

lemon grass x2

mint

basil

tomatoes x4

okra x4

brocolli x4

califlower

watercress

bak choy

beansprouts

VN corriander (rau ram) x4

rau muong x4

salad mixes x4

lettuce x4

in separate containers:

daikon x2

carrots x2

bitter melon

hairy gourd

eggplant

pennywort

sugar cane

I get the feeling I'm missing something "BIG"!

Your garden sounds great but I agree - you don't have enough room for all that you have planted. The tomatoes, cucumbers and squash will all spread and take up a surprising amount of room. We have discovered that over the last 5 years and are planting fewer and fewer plants in more and more space because they all end up growing into each other and it makes it very difficult to harvest. Two years ago one cucumber plant produced over 3 gallons of cucumbers for us - it spread to cover all 5 ft width and 8 feet of length before it died back! Two of the tomato plants ended up with vines over 12' long! The okra grew so tall I had to stand on a chair to harvest it. The squash ended up taking up 3 to 4 feet in diameter each. This year we are doing 'seasons' - planting the quick Spring crops and then we will do a second planting for the Summer and cooler Fall harvest.

In a space 8 x 8 we have our permanent rosemary bush with a border of mint beside the rosemary and a parsley. In the rest of the space - about 6 x 8 we have 2 tomato plants, 2 basil plants (sweet basil and cinnamon basil), 1 Japanese eggplant and 1 swiss chard. I am still hoping I have left enough room to get in and harvest the tomatoes.

In a long narrow 'terrace' garden (we have a big hill behind the house) that is 5 x 30 we have 5 squash/zucchini plants, 1 cucumber, 1 tomato (that needs staking), then the spring crops of a row of mustard, a row of spinach, and a row of red lettuce. In a side garden along side the house we have a row of collards and oregano, and on the other side of the house we have the herbs - stevia, lavender, sage, thyme, chives, dill and tarrgon.

I still have 4 peppers (Anaheim, Jalapeno, Pimento and Banana) of which 3 will go in large pots as container plants and 1 will go in the side. I still have to get the okra (1 plant only this year - we still have frozen okra, zucchini, squash and eggplant from last summer's harvest even though we ate it all winter) another eggplant, and a watermelon to plant which will also go in containers buried into the ground on the hillside.

Edited April 18, 2010 by Kathryn41

[BinhJerome 14]

Your garden sounds great but I agree - you don't have enough room for all that you have planted. The tomatoes, cucumbers and squash will all spread and take up a surprising amount of room. We have discovered that over the last 5 years and are planting fewer and fewer plants in more and more space because they all end up growing into each other and it makes it very difficult to harvest. Two years ago one cucumber plant produced over 3 gallons of cucumbers for us - it spread to cover all 5 ft width and 8 feet of length before it died back! Two of the tomato plants ended up with vines over 12' long! The okra grew so tall I had to stand on a chair to harvest it. The squash ended up taking up 3 to 4 feet in diameter each. This year we are doing 'seasons' - planting the quick Spring crops and then we will do a second planting for the Summer and cooler Fall harvest.

In a space 8 x 8 we have our permanent rosemary bush with a border of mint beside the rosemary and a parsley. In the rest of the space - about 6 x 8 we have 2 tomato plants, 2 basil plants (sweet basil and cinnamon basil), 1 Japanese eggplant and 1 swiss chard. I am still hoping I have left enough room to get in and harvest the tomatoes.

In a long narrow 'terrace' garden (we have a big hill behind the house) that is 5 x 30 we have 5 squash/zucchini plants, 1 cucumber, 1 tomato (that needs staking), then the spring crops of a row of mustard, a row of spinach, and a row of red lettuce. In a side garden along side the house we have a row of collards and oregano, and on the other side of the house we have the herbs - stevia, lavender, sage, thyme, chives, dill and tarrgon.

I still have 4 peppers (Anaheim, Jalapeno, Pimento and Banana) of which 3 will go in large pots as container plants and 1 will go in the side. I still have to get the okra (1 plant only this year - we still have frozen okra, zucchini, squash and eggplant from last summer's harvest even though we ate it all winter) another eggplant, and a watermelon to plant which will also go in containers buried into the ground on the hillside.

That sounds like a great Garden, I brought tons of seeds with me, mainly pepper when I moved to Vietnam, and some sweet corn, most of which I will be planting in containers, or taking them to the countryside for her uncle to plant. I know they go crazy over halapeno peppers here, and the tabasco peppers are the best for spicing up a soup, because it gives more than just heat but a good flavor as long as you like tabasco flavor. What we did last time I was here is we had fried squid, and when her mom made the batter I took some of the juice from the tabasco peppers an put it into the batter. Talk about spicy squid, man was it good!

[DeeTee 0]

My gosh - so much - my mouth is watering. And your very lucky too - we are just thinking about stating something but can do nothing yet since were still in the frost danger season here is NW Pennsylvania. We've got to wait about another month before we can plant anything.

Sounds great though - good luck.

I'll also have to build a fence so the bunnies don't nibble everthing up while I'm sleeping!

Hints to those people in the "cold weather" area:

As in a garden book said, "when you see the Dog Wood Flowers about to bloom, it is safe to do your vegetable gardening" (no more frost).

lindal24,

Did you include "tang o^" and "he."?

[Greg_n_Lien 0]

GREAT TOPIC!!!

I garden every year, and wanted to do more STUFF that would be good for when Lien is here. I was not sure really what to do. YOU listed a LOT, that will take quite a bit of space. Thanks for the LIST. It is time for planting here, but raining today