Am I To Late-newbie panicking!

I live in Western KY. i'm starting to get very bummed out, first I had problems getting soil. Now that i do have soil i am being told by the local people a garden centers that i am to late for almost everything. I have been told that i could do a fall garden, but i have no idea what im supposed to plant or when, im all kinds of confused. what am i to late for now? what can i and should i be planting now? what should i be waiting to plant, and when should i plant it?
i know the book has all the charts in it but at this point i think im at system overload on taking in and processing information, i wish i could just have someone take me by the hand and walk me through this step-by-step. from making sure i have the correct soil to which plants go where and how many.

Too late? It is just May! People like to shoot holes in people's plans. That is silly. My New England relatives don't even bother until Memorial Day. Fall garden indeed. LOL.

I would grab whatever you like. Tomato plants make sense. And maybe peppers and eggplant plants. See what is available. Others can go in as seed. Do the stores have plants? If they do, why are they selling them if it is so dang late? Maybe it is not the most ideal time, but it certainly is not too late.

Found a few planting guides HERE and HERE. And that was a quick search. Essentially, you should be able to put in any warm weather plant now. Maybe a little later than your neighbors, but so what.

Don't panic. You can have a great garden Without this forum just using the book. If you wanted to start your entire garden from seed, that takes some planning to do all that stuff many weeks before putting plants outside.
1- Therefore, your quickest answer to a garden is transplants. And know your frost free date so you don't plant them too early.
Simply hop over to your garden center and buy some of your favorite veggies that you simply "must have" and put them in the house and wait for your frost free date to plant. Do use the white search box top left side of this page to look up the topic, hardening off plants, before you put them outside. Wallah! You can make things real pretty and add a couple flowers too which helps the garden, like marigolds.
2- Use your book and your knowledge of your frost free date to plan for other seedlings you want to try. In the back of your book use the planting charts. You can pencil in your frost free date, count back wards and if you can write small, I put those dates right in the book. Really that's all there is to it.
Again don't panic, don't make this a job. Relax and this will be fun. Everyone begins a little differently based on their prior knowledge of gardening. But believe me the truth with sf gardening is the less you know, the easier it is to use this system. Don't freeze up. Go forth and plant. We all go through a learning curve and we've all tried things and learned what does and doesn't work. Now go have fun!

HOGWASH!!!!!! My daughter is in the 6B zone and I'm taking her tomato and pepper transplants to her this weekend. They don't even consider planting them out until mid may. She told me they just sowed seed for lettuce and spinach last weekend, so you can probably get a crop of those cool weather crops in if you hurry and maybe provide some late afternoon shade after they sprout. I lived in Northern VA zone 7 and never planted my garden till at least Mid May and usually Memorial Day weekend, and always had a good harvest in spite of row gardening. Collard, Kale, Pepper, and tomato transplants. Seeded mustard, turnips, pole beans. cukes, summer squash, even onion sets (used for scallions) and swiss chard. All are all right on time

Kay

It's never too late to plant! Right now, I'm planting from both seed and transplants, and have been doing just that since early March here in Central New Jersey. I'll be continuing to plant all summer for winter harvests.

Just remember, how your garden does is nobody's business but yours. It's all about your growth as well as the garden's. The fun is in watching things grow. Our knowledge builds on what's been learned before. So you have to start somewhere.

You could try radishes, beets, peas, cabbage, herbs, lettuce right now from seed, among other things.

Tom

I so understand how you are feeling! Things will grow regardless...your first year is not "optimum"...it's just "fun"...as are all the subsequent years! Don't be too hard on yourself and go with the flow.

Here is how I started.
1) Go here and put your zip code in and find your last average frost date (for now don't get too hung up on all the other stuff on the page). http://davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/index.php?q=42001&submit=Go
I'm not sure where you are, but I put in Paducah and came up with April 7.

2) Once you know your last frost date, go to the back of the ANSFG book where the planting charts are and above the "0" on the grids, pencil in that date. Then for each subsequent 2 weeks put in that date. (ex: April 7, April 21, May 5, etc.) I would start with the chart labeled "Outdoor Planting Schedule for Spring and Summer Crops". Don't worry about continuous planting right now.

3) Look at the chart for the dates near today. You should see that you can plant out probably Beans, Corn, Squash, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Melons, Peppers, and Winter Squash. (These by the way all like to grow when it's warm.) Don't worry if it's not "exact"...thank goodness for many of us gardening is not an exact science. It's probably why my hobby isn't brain surgery.

4) Go to the store and see if you can find transplants of the above that you would like to eat/try. Transplants would be easier than seed and necessary for tomatoes and peppers. However, you could still seed beans, corn, squash, cucumbers and melons.

5) Plant and water them.

6) Breathe deeply and enjoy!

Don't worry about what everyone tells you. Just go and try it.

What wonderful advice you've been given above. Don't worry and just start gardening. Get some seedlings and plant some warm-weather crops. You'll have the last laugh.

I'm with everyone else on this. Square Foot Gardening is not the same as row gardening; we have the benefit of an ideal soil mix. I got started "late" for my region, planting on April 5th and 6th for most things that I was told should have been planted a month earlier. My garden is now growing strong, my first hand of cherry tomatoes is growing on the vine, I have some peppers developing, there are buds on most of my squash plants, my beans are racing up the trellis, and everything else we planted is looking great. I added okra a week ago, we just planted some sunflower seeds in a new box (the one with the really tall trellis), and I plan to plant a few more things in the coming days in my empty squares. Only thing I'm having real difficulty with is some of my herbs, and I think maybe I should have started them inside so will try again:

@givvmistamps.....One thing I can remember learning about herbs......They need less watering and their soil needs aren't as stringent. They do better with less than perfect soil. Maybe your soil is too good.

quiltbea wrote:@givvmistamps.....One thing I can remember learning about herbs......They need less watering and their soil needs aren't as stringent. They do better with less than perfect soil. Maybe your soil is too good.

Thanks Bea! I'll keep that in mind this next go-round. Some of my herbs are still going, but several either never emerged or they emerged and looked pretty good for a few days to a couple weeks then died overnight.

I'm in Zone 9, and by the book, I'm horribly late & anything I plant other than melons will die a horrible death due to sun/heat ...

Planting tomorrow

Hey Acara!!! Welcome back! Hope you are planting tomatoes again this year!

UnderTheBlackWalnut wrote:Hey Acara!!! Welcome back! Hope you are planting tomatoes again this year!

Thanks. Good to be back.

Lifes calmed down a little & momma/baby are both in good health.... so I think I've got enough "free time" to do a box or two.

I'll get some stuff in the ground today, but the tomatoes will be limited, due to the late start date.
Most varieties I favor won't set fruit in 90+ degrees, so I'll probably stick to some grape/spoon varieties and a hybrid or two.

I plan on going back to the Russian blacks & monster-toms on the next cycle though (fall).

Acara!

Quote/ From Acara

Thanks. Good to be back.

Lifes calmed down a little & momma/baby are both in good health.... so I think I've got enough "free time" to do a box or two.


[/quote]

Happy to hear your family are doing well. Who can forget what you went through last year.

It's too late for cool season veggies but this is prime time for summer veggies (tomotoes, eggplant, melon, peppers, green beans, etc.). Tha garden center woud sell more stuff if they gave out the proper advice...ususally it's the other way around...them trying to sell you stuff when it is actually too late.

Start with bedding plants...in the KC area garden veggie bedding plants tend to go on sale around memorial day and that's still a good time to get stuff in the ground.

http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/id/id128/id128.pdf

If this is for your area, then you aren't too late if you buy some plant starts. It looks like peppers and tomatoes are still okay to plant, and if I were in your position and location, I'd try to direct seed some cucumbers also.

I wouldn't wait much longer, and make sure you are buying the right variety for your area and climate. I didn't read the entire pdf, so there might be more valuable information within it. There should be a list of tested cultivars somewhere, but I didn't see it in the pdf.

Having trouble getting my ingredients, but I ordered 15 bags sfg mix and its supposed to be here on the 23rd. I have three tomato transplants and a pepper plant. I'm getting very nervous. Is it too late to plant next week?

No, plant anyway! I plant what I want all yr and you won't have the heat so bad in Ky. Any summer veggie. Cukes, melons, beans, toms, peppers, etc. If you want to plant lettuce, well, if you have a shaded area of yard try planting some in a pot. If it's still too hot, you can take pot in the house! Other cool weather crops can be planted for fall.

My DH is from Arjay. Where are you located?
Jo

Thanks littlejo. Im in Williamsburg, Ky.

givvmistamps wrote:

quiltbea wrote:@givvmistamps.....One thing I can remember learning about herbs......They need less watering and their soil needs aren't as stringent. They do better with less than perfect soil. Maybe your soil is too good.

Thanks Bea! I'll keep that in mind this next go-round. Some of my herbs are still going, but several either never emerged or they emerged and looked pretty good for a few days to a couple weeks then died overnight.

I had the same problem with some...and even tried starting them indoors first. I just can't seem to get my rosemary seeds to sprout no matter what. And my lavender took 3 plantings and apparently was waiting for conditions opposite of what the package said. Live and learn!

Bella- I'm sure I'm not too far from you but got a bit of a late start as well and am already enjoying some fresh yumminess from my plantings. This week is a great time to get in your summer seeds (squash, cukes, beans) since we should have lots of warm temps and rain! Buy the pepper and tomato plants now and they will start growing nicely as we should be clear of any more frost threats. ENJOY!