Zones 3-5 Gardeners, post here!! - Page 5

[Sustainer]

Originally Posted by Aurora

I don't know but I am looking too.

I just found some that says "Approved for use on organic farms" http://www.dirtworks.net/Intervale-Compost.html

[russianthistle]

Originally Posted by sacredmama

Has anyone ever had success starting spinach, chard, or kale outdoors earlier than your other stuff? How early?

I started spinach and kale, last year, around the first of May. This year I'm going cold frames...they WILL be built by the end of this week.

What are others starting early???? I have only imagined a few things, like hardy greens...perhaps some snap peas...a lettuce mix, perhaps.

What are you starting in your cold frames?

[box_of_rain]

Originally Posted by Sustainer

Anyone know where I can buy compost that's indicated as "certified organic" or at least "approved for organic use"? It's not enough to just have the word "organic" because it might just mean 'contains organic (carbon-based) material' (duh).

TIA!

I use Moo Doo, Moo Mix, etc. I love the stuff.
http://www.dirtworks.net/Moo-Doo-Compost.html

[newmainer]

Originally Posted by russianthistle

I started spinach and kale, last year, around the first of May. This year I'm going cold frames...they WILL be built by the end of this week.

What are others starting early???? I have only imagined a few things, like hardy greens...perhaps some snap peas...a lettuce mix, perhaps.

What are you starting in your cold frames?

we have broc and cauli sprouts, onions and leeks as well. waiting on shallots and another set of leeks. These will go out sometime in late April. have on my calendar to start chard and some head lettuce... and peppers. Not sure i'm going to put anything in cold frames though; just going to direct transplant the stuff that can handle it in April after we get the ground turned under, use row covers as necessary.

in the past, i've done lettuce under windows and it's done great.

this year we're going so much bigger- its' all new to me. I have no idea how it will all go!

[russianthistle]

nice! I never thought to do leeks! I guess that because they grow in abundance in the wild here...but big leeks would be interesting!

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by josybear

it blizzarded yesterday. i'm officially disgruntled. see how disgruntled i am? these are my disgruntled faces. :

Boy can I relate! Last week it got really warm (comparatively, anyway), but then it snowed! This week it's gotten pretty warm again and the snow that fell last week melted. Now it's supposed to snow again today and tomorrow. I've decided that spring is just toying with my emotions!

[Aurora]

Thanks for the compost info!

It was 60 degrees yesterday and should be that again today and it is supposed to snow tomorrow.

[Owen'nZoe]

Originally Posted by Aurora

Thanks for the compost info!

It was 60 degrees yesterday and should be that again today and it is supposed to snow tomorrow.

More snow tomorrow here, too. I don't even have snowdrops or early crocuses yet - just a little green poking out of the ground - I'm pretty sure they were already flowering last year by this time. I'm ready for something green!

[Qerratsmom]

e're still under atleast a foot of snow up here. Some of the snow banks are over my head. Sigh...,.

[sacredmama]

Originally Posted by newmainer

we have broc and cauli sprouts, onions and leeks as well. waiting on shallots and another set of leeks. These will go out sometime in late April. have on my calendar to start chard and some head lettuce... and peppers. Not sure i'm going to put anything in cold frames though; just going to direct transplant the stuff that can handle it in April after we get the ground turned under, use row covers as necessary.

Originally Posted by russianthistle

What are others starting early???? I have only imagined a few things, like hardy greens...perhaps some snap peas...a lettuce mix, perhaps.

THANKS!! I am definitely going to try some stuff early. Kale, spinach, chard, maybe even snap peas, because I already have those seeds. I plan on buying the rest of my seeds this weekend and having more of an exact plan on what and when!!

[Daffodil]

Everything is still covered with snow here. But the other day I dug down through almost a foot and a half of snow and uncovered one of my cold frames. (The one I didn't step on and break during the winter.) Yesterday I opened it up and pulled out all the grass and weeds that were growing in it, while breathing in the lovely warm dirt smell, and today I dug in some manure and then randomly scattered seeds of various greens - spinach, lettuce, mache, tatsoi, mizuna, purslane, cress, sorrel. Now if I can just remember to open it up partway during the day unless it's really cold, and close it up again at night . . .

[amyamanda]

I uncovered my cold frames a few days ago, too. One had parsley and a little swiss chard growing in it already (from last year). I scattered lettuce seeds in one of them before the winter and I'm hoping they sprout as early as they can. I also put a chive plant in one last year to see if it would grow any earlier than the other chives, but the other ones are juuuuust barely starting to show little pinpoints of green, and since they like the cold they might do just as well outside the cold frame as in. I left cut-back stumps of kale in my cold frame hoping they'd come back, but no sign yet. The cold frames I built were not tall enough to accommodate my fall kale, which is why I cut them back. I should just sow some fresh kale seed I think. It's a big experiment for me, these cold frames (I put them in last fall for the first time).

I started onion and leek seeds a few days ago, along with something new called "cutting celery," and prepared flats for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants - then took the tomato/pepper/eggplant seeds and folded them into wet paper towels inside ziplocks and put them on a heat mat to sprout. I saved my own tomato seeds last year and I wonder how viable they are. I also did the same with parsley seeds. I also planted a few cherry tomato seeds in a big pot in my window and did the same with kale. I'd like to have indoor tomatoes and kale to see if they last through the winter.

My yard is still covered with snow, 1 foot deep at the highest points, but the margin is receding and we now have a few feet bare around the snow. My garden and pearows are still buried, though. I am eager to get my peas in.

Trying to decide whether to start broccoli/cabbage/cauliflower inside or just seed it outside as soon as the snow melts. Does anyone know if starting them indoors really gets you anything faster?

Oh, we have one tiny green stub of a crocus (about 1/2" at the end of the crocus-row where the snow has melted. No daffodil shoots yet, though, even though the snow has melted over those as well. Still too cold I guess. Our nighttime temps are still below freezing (10s and 20s).

[cheenya]

Hi All,
I'm in MN, zone 4a. I'm glad to see this thread, since it shows others are at exactly the planting stage I'm at - waiting for the ground to thaw, starting a few things indoors, and planning for what to plant this year.

[cheenya]

I actually read thorough the whole thread, and pulled out some things to reply to

Originally Posted by binkin

you don't need to look for a special grow light or anything. (You probably got that already, but I'm just reiterating!)

Thanks for pointing that out. I've been wondering if fancy lights were necessary.

Originally Posted by sacredmama

Has anyone ever had success starting spinach, chard, or kale outdoors earlier than your other stuff? How early?

In the past, we've planted spinach right before the ground freezes in November. It comes up really early and its wonderful to have those early spring greens. I planted some outside yesterday, but in a pot, not the ground, we'll see how it does.

Originally Posted by box_of_rain

I grow my melons up a fence (grew sugar baby watermelons last summer). Anything that vines I grow vertically. It's such a space saver.

: I tried that for the first time last year. We grew butternut squash and cucumbers on a trellis. It worked wonderfully!

Originally Posted by Sustainer

Anyone know where I can buy compost that's indicated as "certified organic" or at least "approved for organic use"? It's not enough to just have the word "organic" because it might just mean 'contains organic (carbon-based) material' (duh).

Where do you live?
This store http://www.midwesthydroponics.com/ is about an hour away from me and I bought organic compost there last year. They have many OMRI certified products in their catalog, and they do mail order. I bought bat guano as the main fertilizer for my garden last year. It worked great.

[cheenya]

ok, and one more question. Has anyone ever heard of/ ordered from St. Lawrence Nurseries?

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by cheenya

ok, and one more question. Has anyone ever heard of/ ordered from St. Lawrence Nurseries?

I heard of them via idig, and was planning on ordering 2-3 apple trees from 'em in the fall (I'm gonna be too spacey to remember to baby and water them over the summer; easier to just plant in the fall, water a half a dozen times, and forget about it). Even with shipping, it's not a bad deal to us. Not to mention if if those suckers can survive, even thrive in zone 3? I'd be real hard pressed to kill 'em here in zone 5. Plus hubby likes the whole standard-size-tree thing - he's not a fan of dwarf trees and such. Whatever. I'm still having trouble convincing him that planting an apple seed from his bosses apple tree? Does not mean the apple will be the same or even edible (taste-wise at least). *sigh* Men.

[Sustainer]

Originally Posted by cheenya

Where do you live?
This store http://www.midwesthydroponics.com/ is about an hour away from me and I bought organic compost there last year. They have many OMRI certified products in their catalog, and they do mail order. I bought bat guano as the main fertilizer for my garden last year. It worked great.

I'm in upstate NY.

Originally Posted by cheenya

ok, and one more question. Has anyone ever heard of/ ordered from St. Lawrence Nurseries?

My grandfather was a nurseryman and ordered from SLN every year. One year I picked up the order for him because I went to college 3 miles from SLN, so I met the owner. My mother has ordered from SLN, and last year I placed an order myself. Highly recommended.

[Qerratsmom]

Can anyone give me a recomendation for a good shrub to use for a hedge row for zone 4-5? I was thinking possibly winterberry or nannyberry because I can get those from my local conservation district. Also a hardy tree to plant in an exposed north facing area next to the road?

[sacredmama]

Originally Posted by Qerratsmom

Can anyone give me a recomendation for a good shrub to use for a hedge row for zone 4-5?

From "The Zone Garden 3-4-5" by Charlotte Frieze, here are 2 known for their hardiness, although I don't know what they look like, as I am reading from a list, you could probably google them to get photos:

-Evergreen- "wintergreen". thuja occidentalis. moist, deep, well-drained soils. tolerant of alkaline. do not prune. deer resistant.

-Deciduous- "siberian pea shrub". caragana arborescens. yellow. drought and wind tolerant. blooms late spring. tolerates poor, alkaline, and salty soils. nitrogen fixing.

[box_of_rain]

Originally Posted by Qerratsmom

Also a hardy tree to plant in an exposed north facing area next to the road?

What about a Red Oak (quercus rubra)? They are very fast growing, tolerant of air pollution, road salt and varying soil conditions. They are hardy in zones 4-9.

http://www.borealforest.org/world/tr...rn_red_oak.jpg