Am I too late?

[ArtsyMomma]

DP and I closed on our first home together at the beginning of the month, and I've been really hoping to start a garden. My previous attempts at container gardens on the deck of my apartment have never really worked out.

We are zone 5b, we have 3.5 acres - so plenty of space.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the new house has 4 massive blueberry bushes, with an insane amount of berries and two huge apple trees. I'd like to plant some pear and cherry trees, and perhaps some raspberry bushes. I know it will be a few years before we got any fruit from them, so I'd like to plant them this year.

This week we were finally able to rototill the garden bed. It's pretty big! We only did one of the two garden beds we found. Am I too late to plant veggies if I buy plants from a nursery? We eat pretty much everything. Next year I'll try to start seeds myself, but I know I'm late this year.

Also, I suspect deer are eating the plants in the gardens around the house. There are many gardens of perennials - very pretty, but I'm totally new to gardening. There is no fence around this vegetable garden bed, I suspect the previous owners did not put up a fence. They did some pretty impressive things with their gardens, so I'm not sure if I need to put up a fence. Again, the garden is pretty big, so it might be cost prohibitive to fence this year.

Any advice for me? Tips from more experienced gardeners?

[HeatherAtHome]

Congrats on the new home and garden! The fruit trees and bushes sound lovely! 

I planted sort of sporadically and I just finished getting everything in the other day. For tomatoes and peppers, definitely buy plants, the bigger the better. Greens seem to come up quick enough, same with peas and beans. I would suggest that you look online to find your "first frost date" which will tell you how long you have for the rest of the season. Then when you buy seeds, just make sure that they have enough time to grow. It should say on each packet how many days they need until harvest. Some types of veggies will need longer, but often within each type (say like peas) you'll find some that take fewer days to harvest and others that take more. I think you should have plenty of time but I wouldn't wait much longer. 

(I'm in zone 4 so I'm basing my opinion on an even shorter growing season, really your best bet is to check your first frost date.)

As for the deer.... they can be a huge problem. If the previous owners had a garden space already, unfenced, maybe it will be ok? They may have been doing something to keep them away (I heard urinating around the garden helps, there are many other ways that supposedly work) Also, did they have a dog? That may have kept the deer away. Personally, we have a LARGE, CLOSE deer population and I didn't want to chance it, I built a fence. My garden is about.... 50' x 40' minus a little chunk off the corner. I used 8' cedar posts to make a 6' tall fence, framed with chicken wire (the wire will need to be replaced eventually-I went with the cheapest- but the posts seem quite sturdy). I believe the total cost for materials was $225? And well worth it. 

You could always try in unfenced this year and fence it next year you find it's a problem. If you just moved in, I'm sure you have plenty of other things to do! 

[Owen'nZoe]

Congrats on the new house! Like the pp, I am also in zone 4, so your growing season is longer than what I'm used to by a couple weeks.

For planting now, I agree that you could try tomato and pepper plants. You also might have time for pumpkin, zucchini, and cucumbers as long as you purchase plants. Right now, I am still planting grean beans and carrots from seed, and am starting to seed my fall crops - broccoli, cabbage, spinach and snap peas. In the next few weeks, I'll be starting my fall lettuce, and then fall radishes will go in in August.

As for the fence issue, I garden without a fence, but I do not have deer. I do lose a certain amount to rabbits each year, but most of my plants make it, so I am comfortable with my losses (well, other than the fact that I think they eat all of my loofa plants every year - that makes me angry! ). Maybe you could try this year without spending too much, see what gets eaten and what makes it, and decide whether a fence is needed next year? I'm a little skeptical, but I've read that some people have had success surrounding the garden with tall plants that deer don't like - that might be another option for future seasons, and may work out cheaper than a fence, if you can find an expensive source for the plants.

How nice that you already have blueberry bushes and apple trees! Love your plan to add more fruit, but in our zone at least (and I think it is the same for zone 5) you've missed the best window for planting fruit trees. You could plant now, but you'll have to be very careful to keep the new plants watered in the heat of summer, and  fall-planted fruit trees have a harder time getting established enough to survive our harsh winters. Personally, I'd wait until next spring to plant any fruit trees. Raspberry canes - go ahead. They're inexpensive and virtually indestructable. ;)

[ArtsyMomma]

Thanks Heather! It seems as though my first frost date is October 3rd. Thanks for the advice about checking the dates on seeds! I'd love to get some lettuce. I also thought a fence would be a lot more expensive! I could probably swing $250-300. Ive got a man who would likely be willing to pee around the garden....if not...would a small boy work? My 4 year old loves to pee outside! I have no idea if the previous owners had a dog, I haven't seen any signs of one. We plan on getting a dog (I've wanted one for years!) but that may not happen right away. This move has been a lot more challenging than I expected. I think we are finally moving (as in sleeping in) the new house starting on Sunday. There has been a lot of yard work, and updating to do around the house (mostly wallpaper removal....I'm an expert now!). Luckily, the former owners are very nice and they just moved down the street. I've been meaning to ask the wife about her flower gardens, and the pond. I am sure she will have advice about growing some vegetables too.

[ArtsyMomma]

Thanks Owen'nZoe! I didn't realize I'd missed fruit tree planting time. I'll wait until next spring like you suggested. I know myself, and I know I would likely forget to water the trees. It's just a small thing...but I planned on putting them on the far side of the barn, near the apple trees, and it would take a lot of hose to get that far from the spigot. The raspberries I'll do though!

We are a family of not-too-picky vegetarians :o)  We go through tomatoes like they are water around here. I will likely follow your planting plan exactly. I didn't realize I could still start seeds! It would be really cool to get a few plants that way. I did get some gardening books, and I read them, but there seemed to be so much you had to know and it seemed overwhelming. For example...I just had to google 'loofa plant' because I wasn't sure if you were talking about the sponge thingys, or some as-of-yet-unknown-to-me vegetable or flower. Amazing the things you can learn, I had no idea a loofa was a plant. I'd never really thought about where they came from.

[HeatherAtHome]

I read soooooo much about gardening before I got started. We bought our house in the fall so I had all winter to plan. ;) I was so worried the first year, wondering if I was doing it "right" and if anything would grow etc. And you know what? Most things WANT to grow. They can't help but grow. It's really not as complicated as you'd think.  The books have great tips but they make it more complicated than it has to be. Just start throwing some seeds down and watch. :)

As for the fence, mine is sort of country ugly. If I lived in town I probably would have spent a little more to make it look nicer. And yeah, just to compare, my last frost date is June 1st and first frost date is September 10th!

[Owen'nZoe]

Ooh, you know, I just realized I gave you a bad answer on the loofa plants anyway. I was totally focused on whether you could eat the plants themselves, because that is what is getting eaten on me, that I didn't mention the fruit. You can eat the loofa fruit while it is still young. My friend picks them while they are still quite small - maybe 1 1/2 in diameter - and uses them in stir fry. I've never gotten fruit, so haven't tried them.