Any Tips / Suggestions

[Guest marbek]

I am wanting to plant a vegetable/fruit garden this year even though last year's failed [planted to late.]

Before last year's failed garden, I hadn't planted one for several years. I used to buy all my seeds from

a certain website, and plan to do so again this year. We till the area several times, then we throw on so

many bags of fertiized soil and till that in. Leaf lettuce I grow in containers indoors.

 

What I need ideas/tips/suggestions on are if they grow good here, some specific names that grow

best around here and taste the best. It's no huge garden, just for a family of 5.

 

I want to do as many of the following as I can get into my garden:

Green Beans [Like Ferry-Morse Bush Blue Lake 274]

Beets

Broccoli [did excellent several years ago, don't remember what kind]

Cantaloupe

Carrots [did excellent several years ago, don't remember what kind]

Corn [did excellent several years ago, don't remember what kind, prefer sweet]

Cucumbers

Lettuce [head and loose leaf]

Onions

Peas

Peppers [regular green and mini peppers]

Potatoes [i don't think these were seeds we grew them from though??]

Pumpkins [just for the kids, not needed to eat]

Radishes

Squash/Zucchini [to slice and fry and some to bake and bake with]

Tomatoes [regular red, cherry, jelly bean, grape]

Watermelon [prefer seedless if I can even grow here]

 

Thank you for reading. Any and all help/suggestions are much appreciated!

[lavender]

Wow! That is quite a list. I'll tell you what I rely on. If everyone adds what grows for them we can might all learn something. Some of the stuff I've been planting the same variety for 20 years and have never found anything better.

I too get good broccoli and cauliflower, which is  usual around here, (or so people tell me) but we are back in the woods where the nights are cool. It doesn't make for good peppers and eggplant so I go for warm weather crops that have a the shortest growing season.

 

Almost any bean will grow here. Blue lake bush is the standard for this area. It is good to eat and cans and freezes well.

If you like a "beanier bean" try some of the flat Italian ones. Unless you want to trellis them stick with bush beans.

 

Corn... We are currently growing Bodacious. Stick with the new ones that have the "sweetness" gene. Candy Corn was one of the originals but it is so hard to germinate. These corns are very sweet and stay on the stalk longer without going starchy.

 

 

 

Beets....Detroit Red

 

Broccoli....Premium Crop Hybrid  good big heads and lots of side shoots. Sometimes when the weather is wet this one gets a kind of stem rot where the stem fills with water after you cut the main head but generally it is still the best. I've grown Packman with some success and a few others.

 

Cauliflower...Snow Crown Hybrid  The purple Graffiti also grows well but I've never had any success with the gold one.

 

Cantelope....Quit planting it because it was too iffy and no one liked the home grown ones.

 

Carrot... Danvers Half Long  when I bother My soil is clay and carrots don't do too well. It shorter ones do better since they don't have to grow down as far.

 

Lettuce...I still think Buttercrunch is the best although any leaf lettuce grows well. Buttercrunch can be used as a leaf lettuce but will make loose heads if you let it go. It doesnt get bitter. I don't think iceburg lettuce will grow here. I've never heard of anyone who grew it.

 

Onions....We stick with the long keepers that you can get at Ag-way. Never had much luck with anything else.

 

Peas...All of them grow but for taste and expediency I go with the sugar snap peas. You can eat the pod too. These are not the snow peas which are good too. The only one I can think of now is Sugar Ann.

 

Peppers... Never had much luck with these. I do find that the Yellow Banana, which is a sweet pepper,  will usually fruit. The green ones and colored ones, not so much. I'm experimenting this year. I usually grow my plants from seed and have little luck with the peppers. However, last year I bought plants and got peppers. My thought now is that plants that are grown professionally, especially those that come in from warmer climates, are further along and more likely to fruit before it gets cold. We'll see.

 

Potatoes... Don't grow them because of potato scab.

 

Pumpkins....Some years they grow and some they don't. Any variety that you like the look of is fine.

 

Radishes...Never have much luck with these either. Cherry Belle is the local favorite, I think.

 

Squash/zucchini....I think I've grown every variety of summer squash known to man and I can't see one ounce of difference in the taste. I like yellow crook neck squash and any kind of zucchini.

 

Tomatoes....Celebrity for eating and reliability. I'm beginning to suspect that reliability is the reason the Big Boy and some of the other hybrids are so popular. Current tomatoes are tiny and fun to grow. Very prolific. No luck whatsoever with grape tomatoes..ever. For canning Super Marzano. Yellow Pear is a good small tomato and you can save the seeds.

 

Watermelon...Stick with the small ones that ripen faster. Most summers I don't think we get enough heat to make good watermelons. I've grown them once but not in my current location.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GL]

I started my tomato seeds this week.

[Petee]

If you live in the DuBois area and don't have a lot of grow lights this might be a bit early.  Even with grow lights I don't start mine till the end of February.

[Guest marbek]

If you live in the DuBois area and don't have a lot of grow lights this might be a bit early.  Even with grow lights I don't start mine till the end of February.

I was planning on starting what I could indoors the beginning of March.

[lavender]

 

I was planning on starting what I could indoors the beginning of March.

That is mostly when I start, too. Leeks go in at the end of February. First week of March that peppers and eggplant because they need a long growing season.  By the second week of March cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and brussel sprouts are planted. They go in fairly early because they can go into the ground before the end of May. They can also be moved outside or into an unheated greenhouse fairly early. Tomatoes go in last. I aim to have everything in by St. Patrick's day. If you get the seeds in too early the plants tend to get spindly because of lack of light. Something weird, I used to start my seeds in my cold cellar under artificial light. Just used florescent light, never bothered with the broad spectrum grow bulbs.There is a small window but it is under a porch. Actually, it worked very well but the tomato plants were purplish until they got some natural light. The light must have affected the pigment development. Everything seemed to like the cooler temperatures though.

[Guest marbek]

Here is the schedule of planting I have come up with. Would you change anything?

I also have sunflowers coming and need to see when they should be started.

The seeds were ordered Friday and should be here late next week.

 

Broccoli -- Start indoors March 7 -- Transplant April 4 to 11

 

Cantaloupe -- Start indoors April 11 transplant after no chance of frost

 

Carrots -- Direct seed April 11 to 18

 

Cauliflower -- Start indoors March 7, transplant when 6

[Petee]

I don't go by a chart for when to transplant, I go by how the plant is doing and then I put all of the smaller plants, including tomatoes, in a regular styrofoam cup, not one of the smaller ones.  The bigger ones, like melons and Sunflowers go in a huge styrofoam (McDonalds Sweet Tea) cups.  I save them all year to reuse.

[Petee]

I'm assuming you live in or around the DuBois area?  I've added my comments in red.  Some I don't deal with regularly but I'm sure someone else does. I hope this helps.  A good gamble on our last frost date is May 31 but it has been as early as mid-May and as late as June 21.  Then you don't want anything more to cover than you can handle.  My tomatoes and peppers came back from the stem at ground level but the corn was fried.

 

If you don't have grow lights and lots of space you may find that starting seeds indoors and keeping them stocky is difficult.  Use lots of natural light, if possible, and a very cool room around 50-60 degrees once they have sprouted in a warmer room.

There's also a trick to transplanting sunflowers and the vines.  Lay the container down on the ground, and dig a hole the same depth.  Put your finger through the bottom of the cup or carefully cut it off.  Push out the plant and put it in the hole WITHOUT breaking the root ball.

 

Here is the schedule of planting I have come up with. Would you change anything?

I also have sunflowers coming and need to see when they should be started.

Three weeks before frost date or directly in the ground one week before frost date.

The seeds were ordered Friday and should be here late next week.

 

Broccoli -- Start indoors March 7 -- Transplant April 4 to 11

 

Cantaloupe -- Start indoors April 11 transplant after no chance of frost

Three weeks before frost date or directly one week after frost date

 

Carrots -- Direct seed April 11 to 18

 

Cauliflower -- Start indoors March 7, transplant when 6

[lavender]

Are you in DuBois? If so some of those transplant dates are pretty early. The soil has to be dry enough to work and that rarely happens before May although we sometimes manage to get onions and a few rows of lettuce out earlier.

 

Broccoli....While the cold won't hurt the small broccoli plants they probably won't do too much if planted too early. Mine go out mid to late May.

 

Cantaloupe....You are probably OK with this one.

 

Carrots... can be direct seeded as soon as the soil can be worked. You can throw in some radishes to mark the rows as carrots are slow to germinate.

 

Cauliflower....Put the plants in the ground mid to late May. Cauliflower plants that are subjected to too low temperatures while small may not head up.

Corn...Way too early! Corn needs warm ground to germinate. It should go in after all danger of frost is past and the ground is warmed up. The seed rots in cold wet soil.

 

Cucumbers... I direct seed after May 30 but they can be started indoors.

Beans... I think that is way too early on the beans as well. Not much before the last week of May. The soil is just not warm enough.

 

Lettuce... You can direct seed lettuce as soon as you can work the ground. Staring it indoors will give you an earlier crop if all works out.

 

Onions.....Most of us use onion sets and put them out as soon as the soil can be worked. Sometimes you see the onion plants. Lotsa luck on getting the seeds up to pencil size indoors. Stick them in however big they are. I put in leeks that look like toothpicks and they grow just fine. Dig a trench and half fill it with compost, stick in the seedlings and fill the trench as they grow. Works great with leeks.

Peas...Again that seems awfully early although theoretically peas can go out as soon as the soil can be worked.

 

 

Peppers....Do not put pepper out before all danger of frost is past. They are not the least bit cold hardy. I had a late spring frost get them up on my porch one year at the end of May.

 

Pumpkins...Sounds about right.

 

Zucchini....I direct seed at the end on May. Again these are not cold hardy. Plants should not go out before May 30.

 

Tomatoes.....April 11 is way too early to put them out. They should go out after all danger of frost is past.

 

 

Watermellon...The seeds make good size plants quickly so this should be OK. Maybe even a little later.

 

You have to play it by ear as to when you put plants outside. We can have a very nice April and then get frosts in the middle of May. The last frost date is May 30 and it is never safe to put tender plants out before that. All serious gardeners have a stash of old blankets, burlap, sheets and what-have-you that they use to cover tender plants when old Mr. Frost sneaks up on them when they have gotten plants out too early.

 

I'm assuming here, because of your context, that by "transplant" you mean put outside into the ground. If you mean move from seed flat into six-packs or pots you do that, regardless of time, when the first true leaves form.

 

I hope this helps. I've been doing it so long that I don't really set dates anymore. The seeds go into flats anywhere from the end of February until the Middle of March. I pot up when the first true leaves appear and then start putting stuff out, depending on the weather, from May 20-May30. Corn goes in last and if we have a cold spring it might not get in until the first week of June.

 

 

 

 

 

[eimilesmom]

My lettuce, chives and catnip are up. They seem to be very happy in the space ball terrarium.

[beavermom]

My dad grew grape tomatoes for me last summer and we had more than we ever knew what to do with!!  And they were so delicious!!  

 

I dont know what he did, but if you want, I can ask....but knowing him it was nothing secretive.

 

We are planning a big garden this summer as well....some things at our house and the others at my parents.

 

It will surely help with the grocery bill.

 

[Guest marbek]

My lettuce, chives and catnip are up. They seem to be very happy in the space ball terrarium.

I had thought about catnip and then didn't get it.

[Guest marbek]

My dad grew grape tomatoes for me last summer and we had more than we ever knew what to do with!!  And they were so delicious!!  

 

I dont know what he did, but if you want, I can ask....but knowing him it was nothing secretive.

 

We are planning a big garden this summer as well....some things at our house and the others at my parents.

 

It will surely help with the grocery bill.

 

I have Big Boy Hybrid, Roma and Cherry tomatoes to do this year. I did jelly bean and grape along with them when I had the great garden [seems like many years ago now lol.]

[lavender]

Tell me how to grow grape tomatoes pleeeeeeeeeze! I love them and they will not do a thing for me. The currant ones grow fine but they are so hard to pick.

Catnip grows wild in my yard. Watch it or it will reseed itself all over the place. The plants get almost 5 feet tall. Too bad they don't get grape tomatoes on them.

[Guest marbek]

Tell me how to grow grape tomatoes pleeeeeeeeeze! I love them and they will not do a thing for me. The currant ones grow fine but they are so hard to pick.

Catnip grows wild in my yard. Watch it or it will reseed itself all over the place. The plants get almost 5 feet tall. Too bad they don't get grape tomatoes on them.

All I have ever done was plant indoors in a seed starter soil. I transplanted outside into my garden that was tilled a few times. Then we added several bags of fertilized [something like that lol] soil from Walmart and tilled a few more times. We raked over the area and planted the plants. After that I just watered.. never fertilized again.

[eimilesmom]

Tell me how to grow grape tomatoes pleeeeeeeeeze! I love them and they will not do a thing for me. The currant ones grow fine but they are so hard to pick.

Catnip grows wild in my yard. Watch it or it will reseed itself all over the place. The plants get almost 5 feet tall. Too bad they don't get grape tomatoes on them.

Maybe the very relaxed cats that hang out in your yard eat your grape tomatoes

[lavender]

It is definitely the relaxed cats. I wish catnip worked on me.

My soil is very clayey so it holds water but water also tends to run off it if we get heavy rains. I've had seed wash right out. My garden is on a slope. There isn't a level spot in my yard. I've gone around with a level looking for one to put a kid's pool. We also live in a valley surrounded by trees. Nighttime temperatures are about 10 degree lower than in town. Daytime temps are lower too.

I use compost and 5-10-5 or 10-20-10. The small plants go in with a weak solution of Miracle Gro and I side dress at least once a year. After the little plants get started I don't water. The garden is a bit of a distance from the house and I have a well. Watering just isn't practical. I do mulch as much of the garden as I can.

The bottom of the garden is wetter than the top and that is where my cole crops and peas go. The top gets the corn and below that I plant the tomatoes. I'd like to rotate but some things just won't grow in some places and moving the corn lower shades out the other plants.

Some years tomatoes grow better than others but usually my paste tomatoes grow well. Celebrity and Big Boy or any of the hybrids usually produce. I can grow cherry tomatoes.

So how do my growing conditions differ from the idea grape tomato growing conditions? Maybe they need more water than regular tomatoes....do you think? Or more heat? Or maybe they just hate my soil.

[Guest marbek]

My garden had always been right out my back door except for last year when we tried it up on our hill. We have very little clay down by our house, but up on the hill was so bad I won't try planting there again. I have no shade for my garden whatsoever. The sun comes up on the right side of my garden and that is where I plant the corn. Then I worked my way over and the other side of the garden always got my tomato plants. I watered my garden every day it did not rain because the house is right there with the connection and hose. I live in the middle of Big Run.

[Petee]

At your house I would put them in deep pots right on the front driveway side of the house.  Add some water retention crystals to the soil and feed them with tomato food or manure tea.

 

It is definitely the relaxed cats. I wish catnip worked on me.

My soil is very clayey so it holds water but water also tends to run off it if we get heavy rains. I've had seed wash right out. My garden is on a slope. There isn't a level spot in my yard. I've gone around with a level looking for one to put a kid's pool. We also live in a valley surrounded by trees. Nighttime temperatures are about 10 degree lower than in town. Daytime temps are lower too.

I use compost and 5-10-5 or 10-20-10. The small plants go in with a weak solution of Miracle Gro and I side dress at least once a year. After the little plants get started I don't water. The garden is a bit of a distance from the house and I have a well. Watering just isn't practical. I do mulch as much of the garden as I can.

The bottom of the garden is wetter than the top and that is where my cole crops and peas go. The top gets the corn and below that I plant the tomatoes. I'd like to rotate but some things just won't grow in some places and moving the corn lower shades out the other plants.

Some years tomatoes grow better than others but usually my paste tomatoes grow well. Celebrity and Big Boy or any of the hybrids usually produce. I can grow cherry tomatoes.

So how do my growing conditions differ from the idea grape tomato growing conditions? Maybe they need more water than regular tomatoes....do you think? Or more heat? Or maybe they just hate my soil.

 

[lavender]

Sounds as though Marbek just has better growing conditions than I do. Since we have taken down more trees I do get more sun. Not much I can do about watering every day. Maybe we will get lucky and not have as dry a summer this year.  I guess the grape tomatoes need a bit more pampering than some of the others. Maybe I'll try a few plants this year and put them in one of the damper sections of the garden. I haven't tried them in a few years.

[Guest marbek]

All my seeds are now here that I ordered. I can't wait to start planting seeds and see the plants growing. I'm going to "design" my garden today. I hope I can fit all I want to if not more LOL!

[lavender]

You can always put stuff a little bit closer together and provide it with extra water and fertilizer. Staked tomatoes take up less room than just letting them sprawl.  Planting squash and other vining plants in rows takes up less room than planing in hills. Planting on a trellis or next to a fence is even better.  Planting a double wide row of beans or whatever takes up less space than planting two single rows. All the space savers I can think of right now.

Oh, and if you read that you can plant squash with the corn to save space, I've never had any luck with it. It vines right out of the corn to an area where it can get more sun. Once there it proceeds to shade out whatever it has overrun.