Zone 3-5 Gardeners Early 2010 - Page 8

[zensven42]

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[zensven42]

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[sweetcheeks]

I completely jumped the gun and I did my first planting last week. (Zone 2b in SW Manitoba, Canada.) I couldn't stand it anymore -- I was getting jealous reading of all of you who have planted and have stuff coming up! Our forecast was absolutely fabulous (highs of 25-27C, lows of 8-10C)... so I went and had some fun in my garden. I'll be planting more carrots, spinach, swiss chard and lettuce this week.

I also got a TON of raspberry canes from a friend. Is there anything special I need to do for raspberries? My kids are so excited about raspberries, I just hope they don't die on me!

[wemoon]

Originally Posted by springmum

Oh, I have a question. I have marigolds to plant b/c I hear they are great for gardens. How does everyone else plant these?
Full row somewhere? 2-3 flowers mixed in with an existing row? Random planting all around the garden?

From what I understand, marigolds help keep critters out of the garden because of the way they smell.

Originally Posted by sweetcheeks

I also got a TON of raspberry canes from a friend. Is there anything special I need to do for raspberries? My kids are so excited about raspberries, I just hope they don't die on me!

I have some raspberries to plant too and all I can remember from what I read was that it should not be near your vegetable garden. I can't remember why now though. I need to plant mine tonight!

[Hibou]

We've finally had some hot, sunny weather here too, and the forecast is looking good. A friend came out last week to help me dig and prep beds & we accomplished so much together! Every gardener needs a friend like that.

I did some more seeding this a.m., including brassicas, which are always hit and miss here. (I did have some that I started in the house, but when I set them out in the cold frame, the poor babies were attacked by something hungry)...so I'm thinking of buying a floating row cover for that bed.

Also did some cleaning/transplanting in flower beds over the weekend. I'm not a very good flower gardener, but I do love the old cottage flowers on our farm...and there's a rumor that we might be getting a beehive soon, so it motivates me to try keeping up with it. By August it's always a tangle of weeds and blooms, but it's a gorgeous tangle.

[lunarlady]

I'm finally planting! Got my tomatoes in this weekend (all 75, whew!), my onions and peas are coming up and looking happy, and I'm ready to start beans, broccoli, and squash. Hooray for spring!

The only issue I'm having is my parsnips. I planted seeds 3 weeks ago, and no sign of any sprouts. I planted 2 10' rows, and I know they germinate poorly so I was generous with the seed. Are these buggers just very slow? Or do they need warm soil? I thought they were cold germinating plants, which is why I planted them early. Any thoughts?

[Owen'nZoe]

Originally Posted by sweetcheeks

I also got a TON of raspberry canes from a friend. Is there anything special I need to do for raspberries? My kids are so excited about raspberries, I just hope they don't die on me!

They spread like crazy, so plant them somewhere contained. If you have a bed that is blocked by a concrete walk, that would be perfect. I didn't have an area like that, so mine are planted in a spot where I can mow around the bed. (I mow right over the canes that are getting out of bounds to keep the bed in check.) I like to plant them in a row and have them grow on a trellis, because it makes them easier to pick. Enjoy! They are so nice to have.

[Owen'nZoe]

Originally Posted by lunarlady

The only issue I'm having is my parsnips. I planted seeds 3 weeks ago, and no sign of any sprouts. I planted 2 10' rows, and I know they germinate poorly so I was generous with the seed. Are these buggers just very slow? Or do they need warm soil? I thought they were cold germinating plants, which is why I planted them early. Any thoughts?

In my experience, they germinate very slowly. I always make the mistake of replanting my parsnip patch, thinking that none of the seed took.

[heavensearth]

Originally Posted by sweetcheeks

I completely jumped the gun and I did my first planting last week. (Zone 2b in SW Manitoba, Canada.) I couldn't stand it anymore -- I was getting jealous reading of all of you who have planted and have stuff coming up! Our forecast was absolutely fabulous (highs of 25-27C, lows of 8-10C)... so I went and had some fun in my garden. I'll be planting more carrots, spinach, swiss chard and lettuce this week.

I also got a TON of raspberry canes from a friend. Is there anything special I need to do for raspberries? My kids are so excited about raspberries, I just hope they don't die on me!

Im from Manitoba too and cant stand it anymore! This weekend we will have to start moving our seedlings outside

We don't do anything special with our raspberries, just give them lots of space because they will multiply like crazy! I did notice that some of them last year broke because they were so heavy, so this year I ran some sting between two posts for them to have a bit of support on.

Today we planted some hardy false bamboo in the yard, cant wait to see how it takes off!

[COgirl19]

After a little snow here in CO last week (ugh!) the long term forecast finally looks fabulous!

In the ground:
Carrots
Collards
Cauliflower
Eggplant

Seeds started this week:
Cherry Tomatoes
Okra
Yellow Summer Squash
Green Beans
Bell Peppers
Sunflowers

I would really love to get some cucumbers and zuccinni going but we are running out of space, I may try them along the fence so at least the cucumbers have somewhere to climb. Also finally transferred my herb seedlings to their permanent home (pots) so hopefully they will take off.

[HeatherAtHome]

We tilled our garden yesterday! What isn't shown is all the prep work (done by me!) to get the garden space from the wild tangle it was to be ready for tilling. I took out all the weeds, long grass, dead things and raspberry brambles.

Even still, there's plenty of stuff that got tilled in and has to be raked out. I was told (by my dad, an old school gardener) that I should wait 2 or 3 years before building raised beds because the whole garden will need tilling during that time to get rid of weeds.

My line of defense: weed, use deep mulches and or ground covers/weed barriers and also do a lot of raking to get out roots before anything is planted.
Sound ok? Or should I hold off on the raised beds?

ETA: I'm supposed to rake through it then in a week or so he'll be back to till once more before planting.

[purslaine]

Originally Posted by HeatherAtHome

Even still, there's plenty of stuff that got tilled in and has to be raked out. I was told (by my dad, an old school gardener) that I should wait 2 or 3 years before building raised beds because the whole garden will need tilling during that time to get rid of weeds.

My line of defense: weed, use deep mulches and or ground covers/weed barriers and also do a lot of raking to get out roots before anything is planted.
Sound ok? Or should I hold off on the raised beds?

ETA: I'm supposed to rake through it then in a week or so he'll be back to till once more before planting.

Lucky you - you have someone who comes and tills!

That being said, I think, if your beds are deep enough, weeds should not be a huge issue. Maybe build the beds, put something on the bottom (newpaper) water it, add some compost or even things that are to become compost in alternating green and brown layers, then a good thick layer or soil. If the beds are deep enough the weeds will be smothered by all the stuff on top, so to speak.

I am curious: why do you want raised beds? They are fun - but a lot of work - and you have a huge area in which to grow stuff.

How is the soil in the eastern townships? Is it rocky? I grew up in the Laurentians and man was that hard soil to work!

Kathy

[Ianthe]

Hey everyone.. I'm new to this thread, I just moved to a 3-5 zone area (I am pretty sure) in Northern Utah and I put some starters in the ground yesterday. Now, I see that the weather is saying it's going to SNOW?! My DH went out of town for the rest of the week... Quick, what do I need to do?

My weather report

[purslaine]

here is an article:
http://society.indianetzone.com/gard...ld_weather.htm

I would try covering them.

Good luck.

Kathy

[Hibou]

Originally Posted by HeatherAtHome

Even still, there's plenty of stuff that got tilled in and has to be raked out. I was told (by my dad, an old school gardener) that I should wait 2 or 3 years before building raised beds because the whole garden will need tilling during that time to get rid of weeds.

You could weed your raised beds by hand, and leave enough room around them to till, or if you are strictly gardening inside the raised beds, you could plant a ground cover around them.

[heavensearth]

Originally Posted by Hibou

You could weed your raised beds by hand, and leave enough room around them to till, or if you are strictly gardening inside the raised beds, you could plant a ground cover around them.

Wedding a raised bed by hand is super easy! This will be our third year with our raised beds (they are very raised, 3 feet from the ground!). We added in one new bed this year, it will be our last one. I was hoping to get my seeds and seedlings in on the weekend but we ran out of time maybe tonight or tomorrow! Last year, this time of year, we had snow!

[HeatherAtHome]

kathymuggle- I did try the tiller for a bit, but that made me more grateful to have someone else do the majority of it!

I want raised beds (in some areas) to have permanent growing spaces that won't be tilled or walked on etc. I'll have potatoes, corn, squash and some others in the 'wide open' area.

Soil in the townships? Not bad but I think it varies a lot. My parents have massive amounts of clay on their property, but apparently we have really nice soil here.

I'm glad to hear that beds are manageable. It's still up in the air on whether it will happen this year. Not only is our fence not even up yet, we haven't even bought the materials. At least I've FOUND where to get them. I've been away a lot lately and still need to finish raking the garden. It will be tilled again this Thursday if all goes according to plan.

[Owen'nZoe]

Originally Posted by LizzyQ

Hey everyone.. I'm new to this thread, I just moved to a 3-5 zone area (I am pretty sure) in Northern Utah and I put some starters in the ground yesterday. Now, I see that the weather is saying it's going to SNOW?! My DH went out of town for the rest of the week... Quick, what do I need to do?

My weather report

I'm probably too late for you, but my answer is that it depends. What starts did you put in? If it is hardy stuff like brocolli and kale an onions and sweetpeas, they'll probably be fine. If you already put in your warm-weather veggies, you'll need to cover them and hope for the best. Good luck!

[Owen'nZoe]

I can't believe I'm complaining about heat this time of year, but it was 90 yesterday. 90!!! My peas are barely a foot tall, and I'm worried about them getting too hot this week. Unbelievable.

[HeatherAtHome]

It is so hot here right now. 32C, feels like 38C (90F, feels like 100F)Trying to get work done but it's impossible. Need to switch over to getting up early to work and resting around noon/early afternoon. Odd seeing we were dealing with the odd inch or two of snow every other day just a couple weeks ago.

If my garden space was actually ready, I'd think about planting... We have a last frost date of June 1st, so that's what I've been aiming towards as a finish line for garden prep.