Zone 5b SFGers

I'm jealous and a little concerned. You all seem to have things planted in the ground and some things ready to harvest. I have several seeds (about 99 plants) growing in my living room right now in peat pots, but I've just built my first sfg. I have 2 more to finish today. I have my vermiculite and peat, but no compost yet. I'm a little worried about getting things to grow this year. I'm not too late am I? I know that many of the things I have will be ready to harvest late summer, but will I be able to get anything good this late in the game for early summer? Sorry if this is a dumb question. This is my first year sfg-ing. I'm so totally excited and my 5-year-old and I have been really enjoying seeing what has popped up everyday in the peat pots.

Thank you for any help.

Jenny

Jenny - WONDERFUL ID photo!

I do not believe you are too late at all. I started later than this last year and had a lot of success - which was my first year SFG'ing! And the first year that I had LOTS of success! Hmmm...coincidence????

different crops obviously have different sensibilities. I have started broccoli, and I am probably too late. Books and seed packets say that cole plants in the spring have a high failure rate, because of the likelihood of a heat spike. They are more successful in the fall. I started peas inside but will be moving them outside this week. (And starting more seeds outside.)

So let us know what you are planting. (Oops - I'll go back and look at your other posts - maybe you have already told us!)

Anyway, what I used to do was plant seeds to keep me entertained until it was time to buy starts at garden centers...

mckr3441 wrote:Welcome back Herblover! I bet that was Cassie giving that intro to SFG in Columbus. Am I right? She enthused me, too, when I went to the Ohio Symposium last year.

One 4x4 box can be quite productive. I'm glad you're going to give SFG a try again this year. We'll be looking for reports .

May you have much sunshine .

Yes, it was Cassie; I admire her enthusiasm. Lots of good questions were asked and her table in the Marketplace was busy. I'm thinking there will be lots of SFG newbies in Central OH this year!

Thank you for the confidence and encouragement! I'm so excited I can barely stand it now. I've just finished all of my frames. I have 1- 2x6 and 2- 3x6. As for what I'm planting. I keep saying a little of this and alittle of that. I have cucumbers, peas, pumpkin, cantaloupe, basil, rosemary, thyme, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, sunflowers. Maybe it would be easier to just show you a picture of what I'm planning. I'll try that. I hope this works:


The purple is where I'm putting the garden mesh. Does this look okay for the most part? I really hope so. I haven't put in the mel's mix yet. I still need to get compost - hope to get that tomorrow. Anywho, I hope this gives you a better idea of what I'm planning. Can't wait!!!

chocolatepop wrote:So what do you guys think? Should I put them in the box? or hold of? I started them in Feb 21 and they are about 8 inches tall. I put them outside in the coolness today to start hardening them off.

The box they will go in had a covered wagon with 2mil plastic and some row cover over it. One end is open from the plastic, but covered with row cover (I can cover it with plastic). I had black plastic over the soil for the previous week before constructing the covered wagon.

so, put em out or hold off?


Niece near Flint, Michigan

forgive me, but i have no idea what plants you're talking about. can you please tell me? i couldn't figure out where you posted that explained what plants.

i am not putting tomatoes or warm stuff int he ground right now. we have cold wx crops in ground now. does that help?? i'm sorry if i'm not helpful.

Hi Jenny, I really like your garden plan. . We are eager for an update. Post pictures when you can.

You said the purple sections are where you will put trellises. My question is will they shade any of the plants near them? I'm sure you have already determined that because you seem so organized but I just thought I would ask. Just in case.

Sunshine to you!

happyfrog wrote:

chocolatepop wrote:So what do you guys think? Should I put them in the box? or hold of? I started them in Feb 21 and they are about 8 inches tall. I put them outside in the coolness today to start hardening them off.

forgive me, but i have no idea what plants you're talking about. can you please tell me? i couldn't figure out where you posted that explained what plants.

HI I believe the answer to you question is Cole crops, found in the subject line of the original post. I too was a bit confused when I first read the post.

thanks! i didn't think to look in subject field!

cole are brassicas . . .

i'd say go for it, personally - i put all my transplants in the ground yesterday.

they're still alive today, lol.

it's getting so warm that they're not gonna be happy for long anyway. . .

when i did my transplanting, i saved all the clipped plants - and ate them as a baby salad. ooh they were GOOD! had a whole bowl ful and i didn't share!

we just got home for the day from medical appts. i'm wiped. hoping to find some energy to finish ripping out the front yard/sidewalk on the 1/2 i've been working on. i expect it to rain soon - we're due (had a thunderstorm last night though) for some good rain and i want to plant grass seed during next rains so i'll have good germination. in order to do that, though i need to get my butt in gear and finish that project.

i also have many planters filled with mel's mix and nothing in them. i am thinking i'll make a herb garden out of one or two of them, and the rest will be pretty flowers.

I would suggest omitting corn, for this, your first year. Corn does not produce well when it is planted here and there. It is recommended that they be planted in blocks rather than single row for best pollination

Corn provides a poor investment return on it's yield per square foot. Ex: if you planted a short season variety you may get 4 ears per square. Which you could buy at the market for $1 maybe? Whereas a tomato plant will produce a number of pounds of fruit that cost how much at the store? (I don't know the tomato numbers) But you will save a lot more money at the grocery store growing tomatoes than corn.

I grow corn because I can't buy it locally as fresh as I prefer, and I can't buy the variety I prefer. I plant 200 seeds every year. Sometimes I have a bountiful harvest, sometimes I get nothing. It all depends on the weather.

i just finished compiling a list of stuff we now have planted:


Arugula – rocket
Basil – lemon
Basil – spicy globe
Bleeding hearts
Broccoli – calabrese
Broccoli – green goliath
Brussel sprouts – long island
Canteloupe
Carrot – kaleidoscope
Carrot – petite sweet
Carrot – sweet treat hybrid
Chives
Cilantro
Cosmos
Cress
Garlic – german hard neck
Gladiolus
Kale – dwarf blue curled
Kohlrabi
Lettuce – black seeded simpson
Lettuce – buttercrunch
Lettuce – grand rapids
Lettuce – romaine
Onion – red blush
Onion – white lisbon
Par-cel (cutting celery)
Pea – mammoth melting
Peas – alaska
Rosemary
Siberian iris
Spinach – correnta hybrid
Spinach – giant noble
Strawberry – allstar
Strawberry – quinault
Swiss chard – bright lights
Swiss chard – green variety of some sort
Turnip – seven top
Watermelon – sugar baby


so exciting!

HappyFrog: I'm glad you live within a day's drive. I'll be there for dinner in July!

claire, come on by!! you can even stay overnight - pitch a tent in my backyard and make like a rabbit does in my garden. *smile*

seriously, though if you're ever in newark, you're invited at whatever meal you arrive at.

i wish it would rain - kept predicting it and NOTHING is happening! i have more carrots i want to plant. LOL

Tomorrow you have 90% chance of rain so I think you'll get your wish.

Speaking of rain I am planning and gathering the material to build my SFG. I'm an debating on whether or not I want to put a drip irrigation system in.

I'm in Medina Ohio, south of Cleveland, so not in the middle of the snow belt. Do we get enough rain not to need one, and how frequently do people water?

Oh my, WELCOME Mapleowl . We need more Ohioans here! I'm so glad you posted in our Region.

I just couldn't wait for the rain to get some rest. Today I napped most of the time I wasn't on the 'puter. Alergies are still driving me crazy. All this pollen. It's a love/hate relationship! Pollen means spring. Pollen means itchy itchy itchy eyes!

I attended the Ohio Symposium with a very nice gal from Medina. Were you at the Symposium?

Happy gardening. Keep coming back and bring your friends.

Claire

P.S. BettyAnn, I'll PM ahead.

Oh. And in response to your question about watering, Mapleowl...

I water frequently since I interpret Mel's instructions as saying you can't water too much if you have good drainage. The Mix is like a sponge; once it's full of water, the rest just drains off.

Hope this helps with your decision.

Claire

we water daily here - our new routine is to water as early in the morning as we can, so the leaves have time to dry off. . . we use our watering cans and sprinkler attachments on the hose. but at this point, having young children use cups and pour water on each plant is just asking for the plant to be washed away with the children's exuberance. . .

bettyann
ps and yes, we watered today even, knowing it's supposed to rain. and nope, it hasn't rained yet. . . . so good thing we did, lol.

So I am new to SFG & gardening in general I did herbs last yr but the critters won.(the racoons & possums got all my potted herbs last yr even when I would put them up on the grill at night)
We are moving on May 17 so I can't plant anything in the ground until then ( I might be able to go over the weekend before, but then I'm not sure how I would water them)
I planned on starting my seeds indoors this weekend since most don't take too long, but now I'm worried that I have waited too long to then plant them outdoors; do I need to just buy plants instead?
I was planning
Beets: Detroit dark
Garden bean
Bush beans
Cucumbers: little dillicious hybrid, double feature & straight eight
Lettuce: summer crisp & green ice
Spinach: Bloomsdale longstanding
Tomatoes: Roma & big boy (making salsa & canned tomatoes) & I thought I bought a pack of cherry too
Onion: Tokyo long bunching
Pea: Green Arrow
Radish: White Icicle
Zucchini: Burpee hybrid
as well as basil, cilantro, chives & parsley

I hope to plant broccoli later in the season
& can we really grow cantaloupe in 5B

sorry for all the questions tonite

not too late! last year i didn't even build my boxes til end of may.



Beets: Detroit dark - spring, summer, fall
Garden bean - summer
Bush beans - summer
Cucumbers: little
dillicious hybrid, double feature & straight eight - summer
Lettuce:
summer crisp & green ice - fall
Spinach: Bloomsdale longstanding - fall
Tomatoes:
Roma & big boy (making salsa & canned tomatoes) & I thought
I bought a pack of cherry too - summer
Onion: Tokyo long bunching - might be too late for this year
Pea:
Green Arrow - might be too late for this year
Radish: White Icicle - anytime
Zucchini: Burpee hybrid - summer
as
well as basil, cilantro, chives & parsley - i think these are anytime - i'm trying them myself this year . . .

I hope to plant
broccoli later in the season - fall from seed
& can we really grow cantaloupe in
5B - yep! but i had good results because i went out with a qtip when there were flowers and swabbed all the flowers to mix the pollination dust up. . . and they were GOOD! so incredibly sweet!

Thanks BettyAnn; gald to hear someone else procrastinates. LOL
& I clicked on your blog; & have been requested to make that library bag....I don't even own a sewing machine
& speaking of procrastination; I need to go grocery shopping

i just needed a new library bag and had several pairs of my dh's (dear husband for those not used to that term on this forum) pants in my 'scrap fabric basket' so i took 2 pair and made the bag. i LOVE that bag!

each pocket holds a 20 oz water bottle perfectly, so each of my 3 kids and i get our own water bottle - no more having to share unless we want to.

it feels real sturdy, too.


as fro sfg, today i went out and picked off baby green worms off my brassicas and smooshed them dead on the wood box frames. it was fun. and not as gross as i expected. last year i used tweezers. this year, i guess i'm getting braver, lol and used my fingers.

no need to use pesticides in a sfg - it's easy to keep on top of the bug problems - it's just a few squares at a time affected. . .

and we did our home improvement store errands and bought a good sized bag of grass seed and we just dispersed that in front sidewalk yard and then we watered it thoroughly, so hopefully it will rain more (although sun out now, sigh) and help it germinate faster and stronger . . .

BettyAnn, how's the greenhouse coming?

Claire

mckr3441 wrote:BettyAnn, how's the greenhouse coming?

Claire

yeah. sigh. so many projects, so many children, so little time!

i need to sit down and peel labels off 1500 2 liter soda bottles, then cut them and rinse them, then stack them and then figure out how to make the frame for them. can be done, just need to get doing it.

but so many other outdoor tasks keeping coming up as a larger priority. . . .

but it WILL happen! my new goal is to have that ready for winter usage - starting my fall brassica's, etc in it . . .

i just wish i was cloned so i could do more.

off to walmart now to buy more children hangers - i'm working on the summer warddrobe and just finished building their closet and installing all the parts so they are officially going to be 'big kids' and use a closet like mommy and daddy. . .

(i used closetmaid/rubbermaid components - very simple - just back strips and then shelves with rails added. nothing fancy.) makes the very small closet (32inchs long x36"deep usable). i'm able to have three clothing rods in there now, so will be able to store current clothing - shorts, tshirts (bottom shelf), as well as winter jackets (top shelf), and long pants/shirts (middle shelf) - for those oddball days we have here in ohio. . . all on clothing rods. so exciting!

can't wait to show it off to the 2 boys - they don't know what i've been up to all afternoon wtih the baby 'helping' me.

my arms are tired, though, from cutting the shelves with an old saw i found in basement. . .

well, i'm off now to do the errand.

Shhhh BettyAnn,
you are making me tired. I have 2 & can barely pack up to move next month.
I have rain coming your way; it stopped long enough for me to go into a store & now it's a steady drizzle.

Just when you mommies think it can't get any crazier, guess what. It does! But the wonderful thing about it is that somehow, somewhere you get the energy to keep up. And it's all worth it.

Then you get to go out into your lovely SFG, pull/pick some luscious goodies to feed those kiddos and fill all hearts with love, fulfillment and pride.



Claire
Mommy of three/G-ma of five.

I'm hoping I get more energy from all the fresh veggies I'll be eating LOL
We are suppose to be moving May 17. I hope to have my boxes ready that weekend. Per everything in the book & from what I'm reading off the seed packets (which all makes my head want to spin) It sounded like I needed 14-21 days. Well I started my seeds Sunday & I already have some sprouts ..WHAT?!?! It's 64degrees in my house; how? I have them in the peat pots. Will they be okay hanging out? So far I have peppers & cucumbers coming up