1st Garden Questions
Camp Kitchen
I have always wanted a garden filled with fruits and veggies, but for
the last 16 years, ever since I left my parent's home, I've been living
in apartments and was unable to grow anything, as I didn't have room or
land (not even a balcony!).
Thankfully, my situation has changed radically and now myself and my
fiance are buying our first home. Right now, there is nothing in the
(very sunny) yard but some scrub bushes in one corner. Between the chain
link fence to the rear of the property and the alley there is a
rectangular plot of land about 4'x10' which I was hoping to use for
zuchinni, peppers (bell and jalepeno), the tomato plant (since there's
only two of us we figure one plant will be plenty --same for the zukes)
and the watermelon. My fiance wants to try watermelon! The yard itself
is slightly sloped and faces north/south. Virtually all of it is sunny
all the time, except for the front of the house which is in shade due to
the house itself. The front yard is mostly sunny except where it butts
up against the house, which is constantly shady.
We want to plant shade loving flowers up against the front of the house,
and sun loving flowers (including some lilacs against the chain link
fence on the one side, and roses on the other side, just to provide a
bit of privacy) in the back. We're going to plant two raspberry plants
on the fence on the other side of the rectangular plot, and plant the
strawberries in the corner.
Our region is 4a. Will we still be able to plant if we don't move into
our home until mid-June? That's the big question I have right now. I've
never been in charge of my own garden and I don't know how late you can
put plants in the ground.
There are already some chives growing along the path to our detached
garage, I was considering planting some more herbs along the path, but I
don't know which ones will thrive in full sun.
We also have a dog, a standard Poodle, and whatever we plant will need
to be dog friendly (and able to deal with being stepped on, that's why
the veggies are outside the fence, by the alley!). She has been known to
eat socks, underwear and Kleenex and I don't doubt that she'll try to
nibble on stuff outside!
I would be very grateful if I could get answers to these questions.
Research online seems to say how to grow, but not when to plant, or
what's dog safe.
The Camp Cook
www.clanntartan.org
gonzo
Dog friendly - that's a new wrinkle for me. There are all kinds of
application-stuff: peppers, deterrents that you can apply to the
plants. Your pooch may chomp these once, but it seems unlikely it
would go for the buffet repeatedly if you have put cayenne pepper on
your plants! We aren't talking about covering the plants in the
stuff, but a general dusting. I heard there was a groundhog deterrent
that makes plants particularly unnappealing. And for plants you are
really concerned about, try a localized cage - you can get small wire,
dark green fencing that would blend into a lush garden area.
Now planting - you are talking very late in the season for long-season
crops. You won't be able to get a 100-day crop to get to a harvest
stage in 80 days (pulling numbers out of thin air, but the concept is
sound). 100 days is what that plant will need. However - there are
things you can do between now and then..
You can start some plants now/early June so transplant in Mid-June.
Fall crops include: carrots, cabbage, peas, lettuce, green onions,
mustard, kohlrabi, beets. I bet you can get some tomoatoes yet, but
check the harvest dates carefully. The shorter dates will be your
best bets this season. Watermelon.. You can always try but I think
there's not enough time in the season for that. But again, you could
try containers and protect the plant/s from early frosts and hope for
the best. Maybe the bush varietes/smaller fruits would ripen more
quickly than the standard variety.
How late is too late? In zone 5, I aim to put some plants in as late
as August (see list above). Plants sown this late in the season will
take longer to mature, produce smaller plants - but they will produce.
Congrats on your new place, and good luck with the garden!
The Cook
Check with your county extension service. They have information on
what grows in your area. They can tell you what to plant and when to
plant it. Locate yours here.
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html
What is more important than the hardiness zone are the frost dates,
last frost in spring, first frost in fall. They tell you how long
your growing season is. Check local nurseries and see what is
available. Read the tags and ask questions.
--
Susan N.
"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)
The Cook
<fouru...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Adding to my previous post, check out this site. They have links for
all kinds of information.
http://www.victoryseeds.com/