Crop to follow Garlic

I have a section of garlic that I will probably harvest around the beginning of July. I want to plant something in the empty space in my garden. I was thinking of pumpkin or watermelon, but was afraid they wouldn't have long enough to grow.....any ideas?

Kristie

Summer squash/zuchinni or green beans maybe? Both are ok with heat and would probably produce for you befor fall.

Stupid question, but are pumpkins and summer squash the same thing kinda? I already have a place for green beans, but if I want to plant more I may try that. I was going to try successive plantings. I have Sugar Baby watermelon...I was kinda leaning towards putting that in...I think it said plant matures in 62 days. That would make it September if I plant them in July. Do you think that would work? If not, I may try some green beans...or some sort of summer squash...I was thinking about trying those as well, i just already have pumpkin and watermelon seeds. Thanks for the help Jeff.

Kristie

You could actually interplant some seeds now, in the spaces around the garlic. By the time they germinate and start showing their first leaves, you'll be ready to harvest your garlic. You could get a 3-4 week jump on the new plants this way, instead of waiting until after your garlic harvest. Just don't plant them too close to the garlic because pulling out the bulbs could damage the roots of the new plants.

You can plant bush beans, beets or chard, spinach and some slow-bolting lettuce varieties through the summer.

Summer squash is different from pumpkins. Usually a yellow fruit. See picture of mine below. Zucchini is considered a summer squash too. Mine have only been planted about 2 months and are baring tons of fruit. Lots of people complain about summer squash because they get so much. My DW sautees it with onion, garlic and red pepper though and it is so sweet and tasty.

Watermelon's a good idea especially if you already have seeds. I have mostly 'sugar baby' growing now. From what I've read here Watermelon is a desert plant and likes light sandy soil. I built raised hills of sand and organic material for them and they like it but they're stressed from lack of water.

Pumpkins are a good option if you have enough room. How large is it? Pumpkins and Watermelon will take a lot of room. The summer squash will be more compact. I'm delaying planting pumpkins to try to time them maturing with Halloween. I'm going to put them in my sweet corn patch.

Cucumbers are another option.

Jeff

Andy...I'd thought about interplanting now...but, I don't trust myself to dig up the garlic without taking out the whole bed with it. I'm still kinda new at this :) I have spinach, but I was afraid it would start bolting if I planted it in the summer... I was going to wait until closer to fall.

Jeff... the bed is only 3'8 x 10'...I figured out I could put 12 melons or 5 pumpkins in it. I'm planning on making it a deeper, raised bed so I can plant them a little closer together. I don't really even need that many plants...I'm not looking for a lot of produce, just a few...I learned from last year not to plant too much, I way too many cucumbers and tomatoes last year.

Thanks for the help!

Kristie

kls_01 wrote;" I way too many cucumbers and tomatoes last year."

Too many tomatoes?
How is it possible to have too many tomatoes??? What kinds did you grow? I have 34 plants, 25 varieties, and I still wish I had room for more. I don't think I'll have trouble using them up, but I hope I'll have to learn to preserve them....
I might have trouble giving them away, most of them will be odd colors. Of course, that's asuming that nothing else gets them first. I only hope I have the kind of success you did!!
Margo

I had too many tomatoes because I'm about the only one who eats them, and everyone else I knew had their own tomato plants. I think I had 9 tomato plants...I made salsa, tried to make spaghetti sauce, tried freezing them, and still had some go bad. My mother in law gave me the plants she had left over....This year I have 11...hehehe... I tried growing some from seed, I have six of those...couldn't bear not to use them after taking care of them for so long, and then I had bought a three pack of cherry and beefmaster in case I killed the ones I had. Gave one away to my parents...not a good idea, because now they won't need tomatoes this year either! I am still too new to attempt canning(mother-in-law does, it seems to be a long process). If I end up with a bunch of extras, I'd be more than glad to ship them your way...lol.

Kristie

Kristie wrote;" If I end up with a bunch of extras, I'd be more than glad to ship them your way...lol."

Hmmm.Thanks! I'll keep that in mind, but hopefully I won't need to ask for any:). I am counting more on freezing than canning, I know it's a lot of work, but maybe I should be learning these things. Having lots of first hand experience with hurricanes and power outages, something more stable than feezing may be a good idea:)

I'm beginning to hit the start of "Zucchini Madness" LOL. In Florida we never got too much, the squash borers got there first, so I really never understood the problem. Now I think I do. They seem to double in size every 24 hours, and I think I planted way too many. My spaghetti, butternut and Sweet Dumpling squash are racing across the yard with the Connecticut Field Pumpkin, and I have to put down more mulch every day. Unfortunately, it's only about 50 feet to the bank that overhangs the road. I wonder if the cars will be safe.....
Margo

I had 8 tomato plants one year, all for myself. Indeterminate, full-sized. For a few weeks I ate fresh tomato salad every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner -- yum! When the frosts came I ate fried green tomatoes for a few weeks -- yum! I may be a greedy-guts but not a single tomato was wasted, or even preserved. This year I have 12 tomato plants, but only 6 are full-sized; 3 are cherries and 3 are currant tomatoes (smaller than grapes and I think determinate). Ah, bliss.

I got distracted there. Oh, yes, what to plant after the garlics. There are veggies that improve with a frost. Try parsnips, brussels sprouts, and bok choi. The parsnips you can actually mulch heavily and leave in the ground over the winter, and dig them up whenever you want some, say for Christmas dinner. Freezing them makes them sweeter. The cool spring veggies can also be planted in late summer for fall harvest, such as lettuces, spinach, and peas.

Cat Mad....your squash/pumpkin story reminds me of that silly old movie, "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" lol.

Carrie...congrats on eating all your tomatoes! I unfortunately get sick of eating the same thing every day....*sigh. I tried making fried green tomatoes, but didn't like them. This could be because I couldn't cook very well. I found the tomatoes a little too sour for me. I believe they were Roma tomatoes, but not sure. I also think I used some sort of beer batter, which probably added to the sour note. Maybe this year I'll try it again, and have better luck....I can cook a little better now! I was thinking of some broccoli and spinach and also maybe some lettuce. But, I may put those in a different section in my garden. I think I'm gonna try Sugar Baby watermelons(I think that's what they're called!). Thanks for all the help guys, and any recipes for my tomatoes would be welcomed! Happy Gardening!

Kristie

Have you checked out the onlinve version of DG's cookbook? After reading your msg about fried green tomatoes I found this: http://davesgarden.com/cookbook/viewentry.php?rid=171

Sounds very good! After seeing the movie I always wanted to try them, never had them. I'll give this recipe a try this fall.

Oohhh...that recipe looks good. I think the cornmeal, sugar, and bacon drippings(fattening, but oh so good) would definately make it taste better.....I might try this as well...thanks Andycdn!

Kristie

kls-01: my fried green tomatoes recipe (from the southern mother of an old boyfriend) uses not a batter but just breading made from cornmeal & wheat flour, salt, pepper, and "more sugar than you'd think". That's what she said. Fry slices of green tomato, dipped in this breading, gently in butter until brown. Make sure that the tomato hasn't even thought of ripening -- the slightest pink turns the slice into mush while you cook it.

Thanks, Carrie...I like the "more sugar than you think"...I'll definately try out the fried green tomatoes!

Kristie

So...I am going to dig up my garlic a little early....apparently its ready. I had started the watermelon seeds I was going to follow the garlic with in little cups. How big should they be before I transplant them? Also, aren't you supposed to be careful not to disturb watermelon roots when transplanting? Thanks

Kristie

Hi Kristie,

I don't think you can transplant watermelon too early. I did mine around 2 weeks after they germinated. They had 1-2 true leaves on them. I had read the same thing that they don't like their roots disturbed so I used those peat pellet things that I could plant whole. I think the key is though just get them in the ground quick before the root system gets too big.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff! I was just looking on the internet to see if I could find info on what size the plants needed to be. So far I have three out of 12 that have sprouted...they're still small. I figured if I transplanted them while they were still small it'd be easier not to disturb the roots. I was also thinking maybe I could just cut the bottoms off the cups and plant the whole thing so I wouldn't disturb the roots....if not, I'll just let the soil dry out a little so it hold together and hopefully that will work. I just hope it won't be too late to plant them...I'd like some watermelons this year. If not, I could use the practice with them for next year!

Kristie

cut out the bottoms and also tear the sides of the cups.

Thanks Carrie, I'll try that!

Kristie

I wouldn't let them dry out, I always water before transplanting. I would probably just tap it out of the cup, I usually do more damage when I try to dissect the cups, but then, I am very fumble-fingered, especially when I try to be careful *s*. Why not try direct seeding a few, as well, and see what happens. It took my transplanted cantaloupes a looooong time to catch up to the ones I direct seeded at the time of transplant.
Margo

I may try direct sow as well. So far I have four plants that have just sprouted. We just(finally) got rain last night, so I will have to wait before I can work the plot where they're going to go. I'll plant whatever's sprouted then and maybe direct seed some as well. Since I'm not planning on letting the plants get very big before I transplant, maybe they won't have problems catching up to directly seeded ones. How old where your plants when you transplanted? I believe mine are a little over week since I planted them.....I forgot to write it down :(

Kristie

Kristie wrote;"How old where your plants when you transplanted?"
I bought them, and they had just their first leaves appearing, less than two inches tall. I only mentioned it because next time I won't bother with transplants at all, since the direct seeded di just as well, if not better. Why dig more than I need to*G* ?
Margo

lol...I getcha. I started mine in cups because I wanted to get an early start on them because I'm afraid they won't be done before the end of the season....I thought my garlic was going to be in the ground for a few more weeks. They surprised me by getting done sooner.....

Kristie