Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Because we had an unusually cold winter and below freezing temperatures even just a couple of weeks ago, everyone in my region waited to plant until within the past week. I've noticed some of you are already harvesting from your gardens, and it made me wonder where everyone lives and when we all start our gardens. Please share if you start by seeds, seedlings, start indoors and transplant, etc. I'm most interested in your timing and if you wait until last frost. If not, do you cover your garden at night?
I know Memorial Day is pretty much safe for everyone up north.
I planted on St Patrick's Day weekend, and had to cover the tomato plants one night. I just picked the first 2 zucchini and a few cherry tomatoes, and I need to thin the lettuce. The herbs are thriving too. So far, everything is doing pretty well.
I have a window sill garden and dwarf tomatoes are all in pots and everything is thriving and I just harvested my halms gelbe tomatoe plant last week .
I'm in the east TN mountains at about 4000 feet above sea level.
I tried planting spinach and lettuce at the end of March….I have learned that planting early just isn't worth it. The spinach and lettuce that I planted at the end of April is doing much better than the first ones. My first spinach already bolted and the first lettuce stopped growing.
My peas got planted in the beginning April but the deer ate those. I planted onions and replanted lettuce and spinach in the beginning of May. Those were onion sets and seeds for the lettuce and spinach. I did cheat and bought some Romaine plants as an experiment. The deer ate the first batch and now they are doing fantastic.
On May 20 I got my summer veggies in. I planted tomato and pepper plants. I planted zucchini, yellow and patty squash, pole beans, bush beans, corn and cucumbers from seeds.
I also planted one each of cantaloupe, zucchini, yellow squash and a watermelon as an experiment. Seed vs.plant.
The only food I have coming in right now is lettuce and spinach and strawberries from my 3 year old bed.
I don't feel badly now. I thought I was missing out.
Mothers Day weekend is the standard here. We waited until Memorial Day weekend this year because of the weather.
I planted peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, red cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cucumbers, zucchini all from starter plants. From seeds, I planted the following in part shade to protect them from the heat since I'm planting late: every type of lettuce, a few types of spinach, radishes, beets and other things I can't remember.
I have onions and garlic that comes back every year. I planted a bunch of herbs----6 different types of basil because I love pesto, a few types of oregano, thyme, sage, teragone, parsley, cilantro and other stuff.
Lisa, I tried cantaloupe and honeydew as an experiment two years ago. Epic failure. What I learned is they need to be up off of the ground, lots of water, tons of sun and heat. Heat is what makes them sweet. I don't think it gets hot enough where I live. Some people put black plastic down on the soil to soak in the sun and trap the moisture for them. I may try them again someday, but in another area of the property instead of giving up precious space in my beds. I wish you luck and hope they work out. Melons are my favorite food in the whole world.
I'm not sure if comparing gardens is valid, somewhat like comparing oranges and papayas.
Summer lettuces for us are the reds, Romaine and butter crunch types. We plant the Manoa and more delicate lettuces during the cooler winter months. Garlic won't grow here and most onions won't bulb, but green bunching onions do well.
I'm not sure when the current garden was planted, probably 2012 or so. (Just to get back to the original question.) Some of the plants are still original from then although those are mostly the herbs. Celery, kale, lima beans (not green beans), papaya, peppers, asparagus and some tomatoes will last for years. The celery is about four years old now and still doing well, it had been transplanted from a previous garden. I'd not known it could last that long, this is the first time I've planted celery. I think it is "Utah" variety. A row of different celery varieties might make a nice sidewalk border, come to think of it.
We are on the Island of Hawaii at about 1,000 foot elevation along the Hamakua Coast. Rainfall is between seven and a half to about eight feet a year so we don't irrigate much. All the fertilizer is from the rabbits in the back yard.
Lisa, I tried cantaloupe and honeydew as an experiment two years ago. Epic failure. What I learned is they need to be up off of the ground, lots of water, tons of sun and heat. Heat is what makes them sweet. I don't think it gets hot enough where I live. Some people put black plastic down on the soil to soak in the sun and trap the moisture for them. I may try them again someday, but in another area of the property instead of giving up precious space in my beds. I wish you luck and hope they work out. Melons are my favorite food in the whole world.
I hope they work but no one locally grows them. I'm sure there is a reason why, lol. I did make mounds for the melons and i had black plastic down at first to heat the soil. Then I took the black plastic off after I planted. I read something about the black plastic taking away from the nutrients something like that. Now I will have to re check…maybe I should put it back on. I definitely want sweet I do have straw around them and I was told to put the melons in large lid of some sort to keep them off the ground.
Lucky you…I try basil every year…and every year I kill it. So far this year it looks good but it's still early.
I planted carrots and beets also from seed but they aren't doing anything
I'm not sure if comparing gardens is valid, somewhat like comparing oranges and papayas...
...We are on the Island of Hawaii at about 1,000 foot elevation along the Hamakua Coast. Rainfall is between seven and a half to about eight feet a year so we don't irrigate much. All the fertilizer is from the rabbits in the back yard.
It helps me to determine if I'm comparing oranges and papayas if I know the location of people's gardens. When I saw people were harvesting, I suspected they lived in warmer climates. This thread as confirmed that. Thanks for sharing. I think it's awesome that your garden has so many great vegetables as perrenials. I've heard that pepper plants can get like bushes. I'd love that!
Quote:
Originally Posted by younglisa7
I hope they work but no one locally grows them. I'm sure there is a reason why, lol. I did make mounds for the melons and i had black plastic down at first to heat the soil. Then I took the black plastic off after I planted. I read something about the black plastic taking away from the nutrients something like that. Now I will have to re check…maybe I should put it back on. I definitely want sweet I do have straw around them and I was told to put the melons in large lid of some sort to keep them off the ground.
When it creates fruit, the actual fruit needs to be up off of the ground or it rots. I ended up cutting the bottoms of 2 liter bottles of soda, and turning those upside down to create little perches for them. I did get a few cantelope and honeydew after I got them off the ground, but they weren't sweet becuase it wasn't hot enough here. I didn't use black plastic, and I probably didn't water them as much as I should have. The heat is what makes them hot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by younglisa7
Lucky you…I try basil every year…and every year I kill it. So far this year it looks good but it's still early.
I planted carrots and beets also from seed but they aren't doing anything
My basil has shade in the evening. I think it does better when it is shaded at the hottest part of the day.
I haven't seen anything from the beets. I've never eaten a beet in my life. I hope I like them.
I didn't plant carrots. Hmmm.....maybe I will. I wanted to plant celery but I didn't see any seeds.
I planted some colorful things---I think was called Chard. LOL
Every year I plant things I've never tried. If it does well, it becomes a permanent thing. Like beans. I can't believe I wanted so long to try beans. They grow like crazy and produce so many. This is my fourth year with beans and I keep planting more and more seeds each year!
You and I are in a smililar hardy zone with your being in Tennessee and my being in Pittsburgh which has a slightly warmer hardiness zone than the rest of Pennsylvania. We're both in Appalachian foothill areas too, right?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,206,701 times
Reputation: 57822
We are at about 600' elevation, 23 miles east of Seattle. Normally I wait until Mother's Day but this year I started earlier, mid-April in the greenhouse. I have some green tomatoes, little squash, and blossoms on the peas and beans already which is earlier than ever in 21 years here. The greenhouse makes a big difference though I actually got it to keep the squirrels, rabbits, and deer from eating my crops.
We are at about 600' elevation, 23 miles east of Seattle. Normally I wait until Mother's Day but this year I started earlier, mid-April in the greenhouse. I have some green tomatoes, little squash, and blossoms on the peas and beans already which is earlier than ever in 21 years here. The greenhouse makes a big difference though I actually got it to keep the squirrels, rabbits, and deer from eating my crops.
I'd love to have a greenhouse! We spent time time in North Bend and Snoqualmie last summer. Beautiful area!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
something like that. Now I will have to re check…maybe I should put it back on. I definitely want sweet
I do have straw around them and I was told to put the melons in large lid of some sort to keep them off the ground.
