There is a run down used-to-be Garden in the corner of my property, and i want to turn it into a functioning garden again. Trouble is, I have never had a garden before. I need to know what kind of things I can grow considering where I live, how soon I should start, and how to get everything ready to plant. Can anyone help?
For a really good detailed list of what should be planted when in your area, get a farmer’s almanac. Also, the information will be on your seed packets. They will show a small map of the U.S. to show what zone you’re in, so you’ll know when to plant. Good crops to start with will be tomatoes (from plants), peppers (also from plants), zucchini (be sure you have a lot of friends/family if you plant much), radishes, carrots, beets, pumpkins or other winter squash, and lettuce. I wouldn’t start with green beans (a lot of work) or corn (not a lot of bang for your buck). Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, and cucumbers can all be planted under black plastic, and if you plant much, I’d recommend it. Roll out your black plastic, secure the corners and edges to keep the wind from pulling it up, cut X’s (every 3′ for all but the zucchini, and 4′ for them) in the plastic, and plant your plants/seeds in them (make the holes a little bigger for Seeds, and watch them to make sure the plants don’t get covered by the plastic when they sprout). For tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, pour a cup of Miracle Gro for tomatoes (mixed per the directions) in with them (they’re all members of the nightshade family, so it will work for all of them). For the others, use regular Miracle Gro. Plant the tomato plants all the way up to the first branch of leaves–the small hairs will turn into roots and make them more hardy. The rest should be planted only to the level they come at. When you plant the zucchini, plant about 3-4 seeds in each hole. Again, the seed packets will tell you how deep you should plant everything.
How do I start a vegetable garden in Vermont?
When can I start planting flowers and veggies?
Since we had the big snows storms here in Virginia, it seems that it’s turning to Spring very quickly. It’s been in the 70s and 80s for the past week or more and it’s getting hotter. Tuesday is supposed to be 88 degrees. So, when can I start Planting stuff? And what are some plants and flowers that are native to Virginia?
Where I live, they say to start during Apple Blossom weekend which is in May. The weather has been so hot though, so can I start early?
You can find the date of the last frost (average last frost, latest last frost dates, etc.) for your area by googling "last frost" and your city name.
You can also make hoops from pvc and cover with plastic. It’s real easy and doesn’t cost much.
Depending on your hardiness zone, you should be able to plant Seeds of cold weather plants such as beets, carrots, lettuce, etc. now. Again check your hardiness zone and the instructions on the seed packages.
Most tomatoes can’t be planted until the soil warms, but OSU (OR) has developed super early varieties that can be set out in fairly cold weather and I had them survive a mild frost last year. (Siletz, crimson sprinter). Stupice also tolerates some cold. These are all small (not cherry!) sized and delix.
My garden gets flooded when it rains heavily, can I ask the landowner to do something about it?
The fields behind my house slope towards the house and when it rains the water drains off into my Garden. When it pours down, like it did in January, a stream forms across my garden and flows into my neighbour’s garden. Can I ask the owner of the fields to take action to prevent this happening by improving the drainage, or it my responsibility to do something?
No – the onus is on you to improve the drainage in your garden.
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Garden (Winterthur, Zurich, Switzerland 2/19/1992) (Audio)
Music video by Pearl Jam performing Garden. (C) 2011 Monkeywrench, Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment
Duration : 0:6:9
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Tree Planting Tips
Experts from the Nebraska Forest Service talk about key points to remember when Planting a new tree. Produced by Backyard Farmer, Nebraska’s premier Gardening program. Visit us at byf.unl.edu
Duration : 0:3:44
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tupelo
Music video by Nick Cave & The Bad Ploughing & Planting With Massey Ferguson
Ploughing & Sowing Corn Using Massey Ferguson Tractors (A deere hunter production Declan)
Duration : 0:10:24
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What in the world is wrong with my planting soil?
I’ve got planting soil that wont absorb water, its like theirs oil in the potting mix. The water just swirls around on the top and makes a nasty sludge, and the water nevers makes it lower than the top. It doesnt matter how loose, or packed the soil is, the water wont seep in. Its just swirling pockets of muddy water on the top.
So what is wrong with it, can it be fixed, or do i have to buy a new brand and replant everything?
***If the advice is to get new stuff, please give me some suggestions on what kind. This was a "premium’ grade namebrand, and since it was so horrible Im not sure what to try.
I’ve tried a lot of different combinations for potting soil in years past — from store-bought to elaborate homemade mixtures that took hours and a motorized shredder/grinder to mix. Buying dirt in a plastic bag just isn’t my thing and the noise of the shredder was hardly a pleasant experience (besides which we sold it). I decided I was making this project far too complicated and too hard, so I looked around for another solution.
Well that solution was easy and right near at hand. The compost pile.
We have two garbage cans in our greenhouse which are filled each fall with compost trucked from the compost pile in the garden via wheelbarrow. And that’s it. In the early spring I sift the compost through a 1/2" hardware cloth screen, then through a 1/4" hardware cloth screen for fine soil for Planting Seeds. Sometimes I’ll mix in some sharp sand if I have it. When it comes time to transplant I might sift the compost through the 1/2" screen for the flats, or I might just take it straight and pick out the larger lumps, depending on the quality of the compost and what I’m feeling that day. For larger flats and pots I use the compost straight.
The plants and I are quite happy with the results. I spray the seedling flats with a strong chamomile tea and that takes care of any damping off problems. Chamomile is easy to grow (I just let it self sow in the garden then let a few plants grow here and there). When I’m done harvesting blossoms for tea for myself, I pull the whole plant and dry it for the tea for the seedlings.
2004 UPDATE
The above little piece was written written years ago and updated in 1998. Now it’s almost 2005 and I have a bit more experience. I still use compost as my main potting soil ingredient [see the Compost article], but over the years I’ve found it often to be too heavy for the greenhouse plants. So now I’m back to adding a bit to the mix. Also, I’ve found it easier to screen it all before storing. I have a nice homemade, wheelbarrow size 1/2" hardware cloth sifter that makes it easy [see Sifters article]. As with many cooks, I have no exact recipe, but I shovel in and screen maybe a third or half wheelbarrow full of compost, then add several shovels of sharp sand, and generous dusting of wood ashes, a few shovels of old sawdust, and several generous handfuls of screened, shredded old dry leaves and well dried clippings (run over several times with the lawnmower). Mix thoroughly with the shovel and store. This has worked well, though I sometimes get some white mold on the flats. This isn’t the same as damping off, as it doesn’t seem to bother the plants. But it bothers me, so I often will put the dirt in the flats and pots then water with hot water before planting (letting the dirt cool off first, of course!), which seems to eliminate the mold.
Now, I’ve also potted up small transplants and full sized plants out of the garden to bring in the greenhouse in the fall, using plain Garden soil and they have done just fine. But my experience using garden soil for indoor winter and spring potting soil hasn’t been good, so I don’t include regular garden soil in my mix. It tends to pack too much and I had more trouble with damping off when I used it. I’m sure this would depend on your soil, however, so experiment.
One way or another, there’s no reason to BUY potting soil, particularly that packaged in non-disposable, landfill-filling plastic bags. Make your own! If you eat, you can make compost. If you live where you can’t have a regular outdoor compost pile, check out the indoor worm composting method. Healthy plants and healthy people start with healthy soil
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Planting: The Planting Design Book for the 21st Century
Product Description
From how to look at a garden through a designer’s eyes, to planning for color, texture and mood, as well as how to attract wildlife, PLANTING covers everything a Gardener needs to know in the twenty-first century, whether they are planning an exotic paradise or an edible kitchen garden.
My garden is regularly visited by cats. What stops them using freshly dug ground as a toilet?
I don’t want to hurt these animals, just keep them from leaving deposits on my Garden every night.
THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT CATS DON’T LIKE TO "WALK" ON. I HAVE USED PINE CONES PICKED UP FROM VARIOUS PUBLIC PINE TREES. THESE ARE ROUGH ON THEIR LITTLE FEET, BUT WON’T HURT THEM. ALSO LARGE BARK MUCH WILL DO PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THING. ALSO HAVE HEARD OF PEOPLE USING ‘MOTH BALLS’ (WHICH YOU CAN GET AT WAL-MARTS) TO KEEP THEM AWAY. THEY HATE THAT SMELL! THERE ARE ALSO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS THAT YOU CAN GET LIKE "SCAT AWAY",ETC. THAT YOU SPRAY AROUND THE AREA AND IT KEEPS THE ANIMALS AWAY.