We'll try and find some interesting links to articles and information all about gardening.
We're still having pretty chilly nights here, last night is was 28 I think, but the daytime temps are nice and warm. High of 72 today. That's in upper East Tennessee. Our friend rj is still suffering winter though, up in his neck of the woods.
And today, Conflicted Doomer said it best when she said...
Today, sun, soil and a warm southern breeze call and I succumb. Today I take up the long handled hoe and go forth into the back yard to challenge, cheerfully, the henbit and creeping Charlie on behalf of peas, spinach and carrots everywhere. Today, by the time you come to the blog for a sage serving of doomer rant, you will not find me. Today – with no apologies –I have gone gardening.
Here where we live, we've already been eating radishes and small spinach and lettuces. The potatoes are also up about 4" as well. Our little greenhouse is flourishing. We have good sized tomato plants and a few experimental zucchini and cucumber plants, just to see how they'd do started in peat cups and transplanted.
I thought for a fist post, it would be nice to talk about what early things a person might be planting right now so just to start simple, I'll tell you about the radishes and lettuces I planted.
I used coke crates my husband brought home from work and lined them with newspaper to hold in the dirt and filled each one with good soil. Then I scattered my seeds on the top of the soil and scattered a bit more soil over them to cover. Not too deep.
Water gently, and if you can, try to use water that's warmed up a bit. Nobody likes a cold bath!
At the side of the greenhouse, neighbor and I put a little lean-to that lifts up and that's where I put the crates. It gets real good sunlight and is easy to access for watering.
It wasn't long before the seeds were sprouted and up and I've been enjoying sweet crunchy radishes and crisp salad greens. It took a few weeks for them to get to munching size and if you have space, you may want to plant a crate or tray or box of seeds every week so that you can enjoy a continuous supply.
I'm a big fan of container gardening as I have very limited space here, and also limited funds, so it's not unusual to see vegetable plants growing from old ice chests, or plastic tubs around here. Get creative and don't be afraid to try new things.
My all time favorite container gardening book is The Apartment Farmer
by Duane Newcomb.It has some good info in it but mostly, I love the spirit of the book, the willingness to try something new.
I read this book every year for inspiration. There's just something appealing about it.
Check out this article on lettuce growing.
in northern ohio, radish, spinach and lettuce seed can all be sown now if your soil is friable; all will germinate at 40F, and none will take hot weather well...if you want iceburg lettuce, it must be seeded before the 15th, because june temps over 80 will cause brown rib & slime fungus...if your soil is heavy, you're best to use lettuce transplants...
ReplyDeleteonion sets and summer potatoes should also go in during the first couple weeks...the only way to grown onion from seed here is to start indoors around christmas...