What Was Planted Last Year

For the record, I feel as if I need to post this somewhere.  I found a few empty packets of seeds planted last year.  Here is a list of the 2013 garden plants with a short review of their production:

Cucumber, Straight Eight - did well, lots of cukes, not ideal for pickling
Pepper, Grand Bell - did alright, took off in the hot summer months, hoping for bigger fruit
Cauliflower, Early Snowball - no production, planted too late and watered too little
Broccoli, De Cicco - each plant did fine (one broke at the stem), need to harvest at most ideal time

Let the Garden Begin!

One thing I realized today was that our land still needs to be graded since we just moved into our new house in January.  This may throw off my timing a bit.  Instead of sitting passively by, I decided to clear out a small patch (6' x 15') close to the trees.  After that, I planted some Sugar Snap Peas and Nantes Carrots in a 15' row.  I know these plants are a big more withstanding of the cold, so if we do have another frost, hopefully that won't affect their production.  I'll get some pictures and a growth chart up soon to help me remember dates.

*Update:  After thinking long and hard, I've decided to go with raised beds this year.  I was a big discouraged by the price of cedar planks that were 12" x 12' x 2" (total cost for six 8'x4' plots was around $250), so I decided to head to our tree pile and go for a more natural style.  The cost to fill the beds will be a bit in the beginning, but it's a start-up cost.  I'll add new compost as the years go by.

*Double Update:  I purchased two books to help with my adventure:  Carrots Love Tomatoes and Square Foot Gardening (2nd Edition).  I think these two books will work well with each other.  I'm excited to see how I will be arranging these beds after doing a little research.

*Triple Update:  I also came across this website today.  It's not the MOST friendly version this could be, but it's a great visual of when to plant what and how.  I'm sure I'll refer to this for quite some time!  http://veggieharvest.com/calendars/zone-5.html

Looking Ahead to April 15th

April 15th, of course, is Tax Day, but it also seems to be a big date in gardening.  Here is a list of vegetables that are suggested to be planted outdoors on this magical date (an asterisk indicates vegetables I plan on planting this year):

Outdoors
Asparagus
Beets
*Carrots - Scarlet Nantes and Kaleidoscope Mix
Chard
Kohlrabi
*Leaf Lettuce
Onion Sets
Parsnips
*Peas
*Early/Late Potatoes
*Radishes
Rhubarb
*Spinach - Bloomsdale
Turnips

Starting the Tomato Seeds

I was finally able to plant my tomato seeds from the start. This is the first year I've started tomatoes from seed, so I'm looking forward to seeing them start from Day 1. My number one resource says to plant April 15th, but I'm excited to get them started now.  We will see if the timing is close enough.  I put eight Roma plant pods and eight beefsteak plant pods.  I'll keep updating as the grow.