Early Spring Garden Looks Good

Discussion in 'Crops & Gardens' started by Ed Marsh, Feb 14, 2023.

  1. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    @Marie Mallery I think you can still garden if you really want to, but you have to take measures to keep the soil cool. I have told the story of how I kept the soil cool with drip tape, plastic and a mulch of 12 inches or more of straw. I could grow (summer) squash and okra without doing that, but everything else needed cool wet soil to grow. It may not be worth the trouble and expense for you, though.
     
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  2. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
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    Thanks Don for suggestion but too much going on at the time to deal with it. I'll keep it in mind though.
     
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  3. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    Never thought I would say this- but we are starting a garden here .Hubby has been turning the soil with a shovel. The dirt here is easy to turn. Will start the planting in late April here. Will send pictures later of area he is working. Potatoes , 2 kinds of tomatoes. onions, peppers, row of corn , some garlic . Not sure what else he has in mind. I can at least help pulling weeds and odd jobs like watering. In the apartment we did live in we grew a few things in pots on patio. At least here maybe no one will steal my pepper plants ;)
     
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  4. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I am so glad to hear that @Hedi Mitchell. Just a note: If you haven't grown corn before, plant it in a block--square of rectangle--as corn is wind pollinated and if you just plant a singe row you often don't get corn. Also garlic is best planted in the fall as when you plant in the spring, you will get one large bulb instead of the individual cloves you are probably used to getting.
     
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  5. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    thank you !
     
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  6. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
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    Our yellow squash is producing about 3 inches so far. Radish's probably ready to take up. So much going on haven't been doing too much gardening.
     
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  7. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good morning to all-

    spring came early this year, and then for a couple of days it went back to winter- had to replant quite a bit of stuff.

    But we went out and cut some gorgeous broccolli this morning- will eat one had for supper with lamb chops and well blanch and freeze the rest. Got a lot of later broccs coming on.
    Have had the best spinach I've ever grown- great stuff, and although it is starting to bolt and go to see, it has been great. Late spring lettuce is coming up, and the replanted green beans should be up by tomorrow. Slow peas are looking very nice- eating a few of them already. Early onions are making bulbs, so we'll be pulling them when the tops start to fall over and tie them up for storage.
    Potatoes seem to have recovered from the two day freeze and they are coming up well again. tomatoes- well, we'll see how they do.
    Here where we live, herbs quite often go wild after we've grown them for a year, and this morning while mowing the grass, I hit a patch of gone-wild cilantro- smelled so good, and not expected.

    And an absolute sign of true spring- our first hummingbird of the year showed up and wanted to know where his feeders were- they're up and ready for him now.

    you all be safe and keep swell- Ed
     
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  8. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
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    Ours is looking good so far, just not much to look at.
     
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  9. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Nothing in the gardens yet, but the leeks and parsnips have survived the winter and many of my wife's perennial flowers and herbs are also greening up. We have harvested radishes form the greenhouses a few times and the lettuce is almost ready. Spinach is behind and may not make it in time, as the days are very long now.
     
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  10. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good afternoon to all-
    Well, I have been making the rounds giving away yellow squash to the neighbors= we're growing a lot this year. New potatoes are very good so far- I do love me some quick- stewed new taters. And green beans- we are just about living on fresh-picked green beans stewed up with our onions and bit of ham for seasoning. And Tonight we eat our first pick of red beets.
    I do so treasure garden-growing season and the good stuff we get to eat from our work.

    you all be safe and keep well- Ed
     
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  11. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    Ya know how you can go to a garden store and they have started veggies and flowers. When I see bean and cuke etc seedlings I think Why?. Ya throw them in the ground and they look like that in just days. Not like well started aerogarden plants. But just started seedlings.
    Welllll some idjut put four or so beet seeds in each little section of some seed starting plastic things. And I thought, What kind of nut would do that? So of course I bought one. I took it home and untangled the roots and stems and put them individually into some ground with water. They looked like the vegetable version of zombies of the apocalypse crawling out of their graves. But a few days later they were standing at attention.
    Wonder if they wll produce beets.
     
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  12. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    We transplant a lot of our beets every year to get a jump on the season. Carrots don't work, but beets do just fine.
     
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  13. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    If you have to thin them, do you replant the ones you pull out?
     
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  14. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    We thin them when we plant, then not again. 2-5 beet seeds are in every beet "seed", so unless you use one of the monogerm varieties, you always have to thin sometime. You can clip the plants as you plant, or separate into individual plants. If you separate, you will get some shock, but they usually recover fine.
     
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  15. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    Mustard greens abound, corn is growing, zucchini soon harvest, onions are growing very tall. Green beans, pinto beans taking off..tomatoes still struggling..not sure about the okra yet..
    Not sure waht all he planted but glad his hard work is paying off.
     
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