Military post to 4a - is there anything I can plant in August??

We are being posted in August of this year, to Petawawa Ontario (zone 4a). We will most likely take possession of our new house sometime in August. It most likely will not have an existing garden.

I'm curious if there's anything I can quickly plant that would benefit us that year? I'm thinking lettuce, or peas perhaps?

I would either put in a raised bed right away, or use containers for this year, then spend the fall planning next years gardening and doing some prep work.

Greetings and to the SFG Forum. I live in 5a but can offer some advice. If it were me I would set up the garden (this is some work) and plant some short season stuff, peas, chard, maybe spinach, beets ( for greens). You could plant some onion seed. About 6 weeks before you expect snow, probably October sometime, you can put in your garlic seed and more spinach, in anticipation of early germination the next spring.

PlumPudding

I know we have at least one other forum member in Petawawa, but can't remember their screen name. You won't be alone!

camprn has some good advice there, get set up first and then put in those fall veggies.

Thanks camprn and Furbalsmom, that really helps me figure out what I can plant in August.

We fly out Saturday and looking at houses with our realtor on Monday. I'm struggling with the choices of either a small lot in a more built up area, with more stores I can easily walk to, or a larger lot where I would probably feel a bit isolated but would have a larger garden and maybe able to keep some backyard hens for eggs. I'm a very socially needy person so I'm nervous about liking a house thats not walking distance to anything.... but at least I would be able to have a huge garden!

At least with SFG you don't need as much lot space. Look for sunshine though.


Kay

According to my iPhone app (iGrowIt) in Zone 4 (sorry it doesn't do a & b) it says you can grow:

AUGUST
Beets
Onions
Peas
Radishes
Spinach

SEPTEMBER
Carrots
Onions

Thanks everyone! We bought a beautiful house, it has a small lot (77x120 approx) and it's on a busier street than I would have liked, but in a smaller town there wasn't a lot of houses to choose from that had most of our requirements (we had a choice of three houses to pick from!!!). The back yard is fully fenced in, great for my 4 yr old daughter. The lot faces south (and a little to the east), so hopefully I can find some good sunny spots to put in a raised bed or two. The advice about what to plant has been really great, thanks to all who replied!

If you have the time and space, cut the wood for your 4x4s or whatever size you may like, drill the holes, have the screws ready (plus screwdriver, the stuff for the grid and perhaps the materials for a trellis. All of this can be assembled in a relatively small space. In addition you can also have ready your Mel's Mix in easily handled bags, and your seeds already picked out.

All this of course is assuming you are not living in an apartment and you have space to work.

PlumPudding wrote:Thanks everyone! We bought a beautiful house, it has a small lot (77x120 approx) and it's on a busier street than I would have liked, but in a smaller town there wasn't a lot of houses to choose from that had most of our requirements (we had a choice of three houses to pick from!!!). The back yard is fully fenced in, great for my 4 yr old daughter. The lot faces south (and a little to the east), so hopefully I can find some good sunny spots to put in a raised bed or two. The advice about what to plant has been really great, thanks to all who replied!

Did you get pictures of the house and lot. Post them and help on placement of SFG will come pouring in. This crowd is opinionated. Start now looking for MM components. If not readily available and you can find them in your current area, load em up. Use every bit of your shipping allowance. Vermiculite is lightweight. Compost is heavy, but labled so you know how much you are using.
And try to enjoy the move. Look ahead to the new experiences you can have and enjoy a different area of the world.

Kay

Welcome to Petawawa PlumPudding!

Romaine lettuce grows really well here spring and fall. You can start it from seed in the garden in early August and have a crop by October or eariler. Fall frosts usually start late September / early October here, knowing this will help calibrate your planting schedules.

You can buy big bags of vermicullite at Hubert's Springhill Nursery along with an assortment of composts and large bales of peat moss. Having bed ready to go before spring sure makes things easier come spring, especially with our short growing season -- need to get things in as early as we can. Ground is still frozen until mid-April most years. We get a great cool spring growing season here; summers get hot enough that many things don't grow well July/August. I haven't really experimented much with the fall cool season yet but intend to try it out this year.

Drop me a note when you are settled in, you are welcome to come see my set up if you like.

Thanks everyone! Here are photos of my yard (not the best as they were taken while we were viewing the house, before we bought it). If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please, (please) feel free!

front yard: http://flic.kr/p/9LJSJm
back yard: http://flic.kr/p/9LJD97
another back yard shot: http://flic.kr/p/9LFR1R
looking around to one side yard (to the west): http://flic.kr/p/9LJCSW
same side of the backyard looking from the deck: http://flic.kr/p/9LJBMC
another backyard photo: http://flic.kr/p/9LFPwP

The backyard faces mostly south, a bit to the east. There is side yard on both sides of the house approximately 15' wide. The backyard I'm guessing is around 100' wide x 20' deep. With the landscaping there, (which looks lovely) there's not much room for gardening. I'll have to use square foot for sure, possibly even in the front yard.

Nice looking house. I see some real potential on the west side either in front or behind that beautiful gate that would not interfere with the existing landscaping.

Kay, broadcasting from Vienna

Personally I would go along the fence on the side of the yard where the BBQ is since the landscaping stops (assuming enough sun), That way you are not taking up yard space and the backyard stays symetrical and balanced with the rest of the landscaping. Looks like great fun. Also, there are tons of plants and herbs that you could put into the existing landscaping and still have it look gorgeous.''

And I agree about getting the gardens up as soon as possible even if you don't plant this year. Otherwise you can waste a lot of spring planting time getting the beds built and looking/waiting for everything for the Mels Mix. Have fun and congrats on the new house!

Lots of potential there for you to make a lovely oasis of greenery, food and flowers.

Look forward to seeing how it goes next year.

Looks like it would not take much to make it a home. I think variety is key, you already have landscaping in the front too, don't limit it to what is there, you can put a few things there too, when you get the SFG done of course. You have plenty of time to look for shade plants to look at, fall crops to plant, and settle in before spring planting. You also have time to consider hoop houses to start sooner. Don't forget to ask questions here so that when you get ready to put things in your boxes you have the info you need.

I can't remember, are you still a military family? If so, SFGing will only increase the resale value of you house, if you have to move again. HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, and THANKS!!!!