I know you addressed this to Granny, and she will answer much more thoroughly than me, but I have some suggestions. You are on the right track to get some echinacea, dill and mint. Keep in mind the mints are *extremely* invasive so if you have some ground enclosed with 2 or 3 feel of concrete that's a good place for mint. I had a home for about 4 years where there were several places that the concrete for driveway and sidewalk made 4 to 6 foot square patches of ground. I put a different kind of mint in each space. But, some of the mint roots even managed to climb under 18 inch wide sidewalk....so watch that.
If you plant dill and fennel both you must keep them at opposite ends of the yard... they cross breed and it doesn't work if you want to keep the true flavor.
Try lavenders, sages, lemon balm, lemon verbena, bee balm, borage, calendulas aka pot marigolds, different varieties of basil, flat leaf parsley is wonderful, catnip, catmint, horsemint, horehound, salad burnet, nasturtiums (these do require a water regiment but I put them near an outside water hydrant that drips on it's own, why fix it? it waters things like that.).. oh, and one of the prettiest shrubs in the world is rosemary!
Well, I was kind of addressing the shrubs and flowers that are double useful as pretty bedding plants as well as things you get some good out of. I am sure I've left a lot out as it's almost time to go out and work today.
But, for the garden plot, all the foods that you names that you normally eat are great but remember things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, maybe parsnips or horseradish, which keep well. If you google "plants that attract bees" or "Plants that attract butterflies" you get lots of results.
I know I listed a lot of plants just above. They are all good for a food, tea or health help. I keep all of those for one reason or another, if you have any question about why you would use any of them let me know and I will explain.
Have a GREAT time ordering your seeds today. That is one of my favorite days of the year, though I tend to do it more than once since I'm probably an addict about that. HAVE FUN!!!
Thank you, your answer is wonderful and far better than mine were.
I knew that you would know the answer to this one.
I can't explain the feeling I get when I get into the garden. I come out tired, sweaty, and feel like a million bucks. We all "blame" our mom for giving us the fever.
I gave up on ordering the cool weather seeds yoday. I went to Walmart and got in on the 20 cent seeds, as well as a few that were $1.00 a pack. I'm looking for the flourescent lights I used last year, and planning how to make a nice area to start everything.
What about soil testing? I looked at the USDA map that listed my soil as "Sandy Loam", but unless sandy loam looks like poor dirt with a vein of gray clay and full of rocks, they missed it this time. I used up all of my compost last year, and added sand and some finely chopped leaves. I turned under as much as I could from last year. Every little bit helps! As far as I could tell, everything grew quite well last year, so I might pass on the soil test.
Have any of you used diatomaceous earth to control pests? For crawling pests, I haven't found anything that works better. You can also worm the pets by adding it to their food (Get the food grade). Mom absolutely massacred the ants that had been getting into her home for 35 years! Two summers of treating around the outside of the house and visible anthills, and they're almost all gone!
Again, thanks for the tips. I'll use that as a base for more research. Some of the things on the list I already planted in the fall to give the vegetables and apples a better chance to pollinate this spring. Well, I'm off to get started..........Back surgery or not, the gardening must go on.