| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Nov 02 2009 : 07:19:27 AM
This year, I'm taking the plunge, and making the commitment to grow ALL of my vegetables in my garden. Here's my problem:
I do not have green, teal, baby puke, or even flatterying pea green thumbs. Mine are more of a brown, or BLACK thumbs.
Last year I grew basil, squash, zucchini, broccoli, and corn, which were all successful. My failures were:
Tomatoes: I got ONE healthy plant out of all of them.
Brussel Sprouts: They got big, but, I never got the "Sprouts" along the sides to grow
Carrots: I think I got TWO. That's IT.
Beans: I have no idea what went wrong...they never came up!
Zucchini: got some kind of mold on it?
Now, I started ALL my seeds in the greenhouse.
Are there any concrete "When to plant WHAT" lists out there for each zone? Because I obviously am doing something very, VERY wrong.
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| pamcook |
Posted - Dec 03 2009 : 08:12:27 AM
If you go to farmer's almanac website, you can easily find the planting information (I know it's easy because I was able to find it!) Right now they have December and January up.
www.ikat.org
www.longaberger.com/pamcook |
| piddlin sweetie |
Posted - Dec 02 2009 : 6:22:31 PM
Hey Megan,
I knew I had read this post and forget to look for it when im on here. Anyways, I live very near you and this past year was a ruff season for everyone in these parts. My parents friends go by the almanac and signs. They always have a huge garden and its just the two of them... I know a lot of the older folks garden this way..
I will put up a (post it) on my computer desk and remember you later on.. I would like to have a larger and bigger garden this year...maybe i will buy an almanac and get them to tell me all their "secrets"...
YOU have enough natural fertilizer with all those cows on your blog.. so as long as the weather does good for us you should have better luck this coming season :)
We had great corn for once this year... something my Mom ordered from (Park seeds) our tomatoes and green beans went terrible as did our cucumbers..and we are big for canning.
I will keep you all in mind and I think I will get my own almanac and have our friends teach me or at least attempt to explain it to me... |
| pamcook |
Posted - Dec 02 2009 : 11:34:25 AM
Megan - I actually know where Paint Lick is! My grandparents are from West Liberty and Jackson. Anyway, I'm going to watch farmersalmanac.com this year for their moon phase charts. There are dates when we shouldn't plant - no matter what. Grandpa always gardened by "the signs" and his gardens were amazing.
www.ikat.org
www.longaberger.com/pamcook |
| sherrye |
Posted - Nov 04 2009 : 8:11:48 PM
wow what i would give to have a zone 6. i know it can be challenging to grow garlic and peonies. there are so many things to grow. i am envious of your climate. we have about 12 weeks maybe without a freeze here. we grow almost all we eat. for us in the high desert we have to grow fast. to do this we feed the soil not the plant. the plant will find the food. for carrots and underground tubers etc. you must have bonemeal. sand is also important to carrots. they do not like tight soil or to fluffy a soil. we find spinach wants to bolt so we grow swisschard. swisschard and kale lettuce radish potatoes all good early crops. i help folks with their gardens here and find they need more food in the soil. poop compost browns like goats eat and more water than is thought to be needed. if a plant has the food it needs the bugs will usually leave it alone. not always but it helps. mulch is also something we do to help with moisture here in the desert.i use spent hay and straw deep. hope this helps i live to garden and garden to live happy days silk purse farm sherrye zone 3 |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Nov 02 2009 : 1:04:58 PM
Well, this year we had that HUGE ice storm, and that pretty much screwed everything up growing wise (So I've heard-it seems like everyone said this year that their tomatoes were horrible because of the ice storm)
We'll see. I'm up for anything! I'm definitely going to try the lettuce though this year-I had totally forgotten about growing it this past year. I did grow green onions, and they grew HUGE. I loved it!
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Nov 02 2009 : 08:23:03 AM
Megan, go to the USDA wed site and go to their zone chart and put in your zip code. I have found, depending on where you live, your number (like Me, as an example) is 8, but I also plan on 6/7 in the winter, and will get to 9 for a week in the summer. Then go to a seed company that you know and love, and for each type of veggy, look at the will grow in zone #, and still there is NO guarrente. there are so many factors just for your yard alone, tree breaks, no shade, insects, a overly wet or dry summer, no humidity, or way too much, winds from hell, seed failures, bought seedlings (did not know I also bought diseases in pots), moles, voles and gophers, etc, etc, etc. There just plain isn't any guarrentees in farming.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Nov 02 2009 : 07:42:49 AM
Hey Megan, I'm with you in Zone 6, even though I'm in the upper part of the state. I've been gardening in raised beds (8x8 frames) for a few years now. I do a combination of seed/plantings....
Things that have worked for me:
First cool weather crops:
potatoes--any kind, all the time (get our tubers from feed store, but also Seed Savers)
lettuces--I use a seed mix for variety--easiest thing I've ever grown
spinach--see lettuce desc.
onions (I use sets...they're so cheap, and I've failed continuously with the onion seeds)
Peas--easy to start from seed. I always use Green Arrow, a good English pea
I have yet to have any luck with Carrots. In fact, growing them has become a source of extreme frustration, so I didn't bother this year. Boy, I didn't at ALL miss the cussing!!!
Warm weather:
tomatoes (plants--mostly heirlooms) (this year was a particularly bad year for maters for me
green beans (seed) (I prefer bush, but last year grew pole without a problem)
peppers (plants). All types. I've not had good luck with the seeds, and our feed store sells heirloom plants
lima beans - seed
all herbs, but I also buy the plants. I like instant gratification, and I like to cook!!!
We don't have space (yet) to grow corn or pumpkins or other squash, but that's the plan for next year.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
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