Question: My wife and I are moving into our new home here in Central PA this month. We are looking forward to getting a 20' x 20' garden in the spring. The great part about my backyard is that it is an old farm field that has been left alone for 10 years and has a 1' of topsoil! I grew up in the garden and work as a landscape designer, but I am clueless as to when to start my vegetables under the grow light and when they should be planted. As for local info...our friends and local farmers are great, but don't like to "reveal their personal success" or have okay food quality.
I would like to start them in the basement this season. Any vegetable will do. Any suggestions will help. My wife and I are excited and look forward to your suggestions!
New Home
First decide what you want to grow. There are veggies that like transplanting and others that do much better direct seeded. There are also cool weather vegetables that need to be started early, and others that need the hot summer months. There is no one size fits all. A good place to start is with your local Ag extension office. They will usually have a general publication on growing vegetables in a given area.
In general. Start the warm weather vegetables, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers six to 8 weeks before last average frost date. If you are really interested in Tomatoes, there is the tomatoes forum where tomato lovers really hold forth.
Brassicas : broccoli,cabbage, cauliflower, about 10 weeks before last average frost date. I use a cold frame for these as it it very important to harden them off for early planting (Frost-proof plants)
You should also consider snow peas. They are great and are also pretty good tasting.
I have never had good luck growing tomatoes from seeds. The stems come up weak and so I end up buying the plants from local nurseries which fairs well but doesn't do much for the ego. ;)
Also can only seem to grow baby carrots, lol, they come up the size of your thumb and taste oh so bitter.
Any solutions to these problems? We're in the same boat, installing a new veg garden where there is currently grass. Ideas for how to lay the garden (edging? removing grass? etc?)
Hey Shrubbs,
congrats on the new home! One of the best things about having a yard, is that you can grow your own food. You'll be hooked after the first veggie plucked from your own garden. You can grow a lot in a 20x20' spot.
I highly recommend the book "the Vegetable Gardener's Bible" by Edward C. Smith. He takes you through breaking ground, to planting, to harvesting. He also has a bit about most veggies you can grow and goes over when and how to plant, etc. It was my first gardening book that I read and a big help. I don't follow his way completely, I take what I want from his method and some from other things I've read and make up some of my own.
Some veggies that I find easy to grow from direct seeding are green beans, cucumbers, and squash. They don't seem to need much coaxing to get going. You can pretty much stick the seed in the ground once it's warm enough and get something to grow.
I start my own tomato and pepper plants in my basement under the lights. Basically, I built a shelf out of MDF and pine, and put hooks on the shelf above. Hung cheap fluorescent lights ($6 @ home depot) from chains from the hooks. As the plants grow, you can move your lights up the chain. I'll see if I have a picture.
If you're interested in tomatoes, I follow these instructions for seed starting:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/490323/
Tir_Na_Nog- those instructions might be good for you too. If you're having problems with your stems being weak. I would guess you're not potting up at least once and burying the stem when doing so. That is the key to getting nice sturdy stocky plants. Check out these instructions (link above). I do a variation on this and my plants always come out great.
Jen
You might want to check with your local extension agent for good dates in your area to start seedlings. Congratulations on your new place!
Jen, THANK YOU for that link!!!
Thank you for all your help. The book recommendation is great. I will be looking forward to getting started in the next month.
Here's another site that has a lot of good information on how to store and save seed.
http://www.alchemy-works.com/growing_tips.html
hi shrubbs,
healthful, easy-to-grow, abundant veggies that we enjoy year after year:
oriental veggie called Bok Choy, sometimes called 'Joy Choy'
(eat it either as a baby or mature)
White Chard
Sweet Indian corn
don't forget your winter garden: Brussell Sprouts, and don't start eating them until after a few good hard frosts.
also: Tristar strawberries for first year success
good luck!
Home grown bok choy is wonderful. You can also grow most of the cole crops, brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli in the fall and winter. They do better with a nip of frost and their are a lot fewer pests to deal with. Also carrots do well.
Usually the individual seed packets will say how to plant, whether or not you should start indoors, and, if so, when to start (a number of weeks before your frost free date). In zone 5 the average frost free date should be between April 30 and May 20 according to the Intellicast map. Farmerdill's advice is excellent, as always.
Cool weather crops like cabbage can be transplanted out before the frost free date because it can stand a light frost.
You should have a heck of a garden on your somewhat virginal soil.
I would like to recommend something, but everything has it's pluses and minuses. For us, so far, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, pole beans, and strawberries seem to be the easiest plants to grow and harvest.
The biggist two lessons I have learned 1) Most seeds will sprout much better with some warmth and humidity (like on top of the fridge covered with plastic), and, 2) have a sheltered but bright place outside to put your seedlings for a week or two before transplanting (you might need to bring them in at night if it's too cold).
These are excellent suggestions and big helps. I have very little time to read up on this stuff with our almost 3 month old, new house settlement coming fast, and a sick wife (long bad sinus infection). Right now is a great time for this blogging because my work schedule is so open. I love it!
Much of what everyone is saying is bringing back memories of working in my mom's garden. Of course, back then it was torture. My younger brother and I would have to turn the garden with a shovel (grade school and junior high). As the season went on we would dig holes in various spots of the garden for our golf games which consisted of my dad's clubs and beach balls. We only got yelled at when the tomatoes became our golf balls. Fun days.
I know we are going to plant carrots, beans, onions, sweet corn, large tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, squash, watermelon, strawberries, and hopefully some lettuce. Bok Choy sounds good...brussel sprouts I will debate with my wife (smiling)
Bless you, gardening with little ones around, I'm in the same boat.
Yeh...I plan on getting her (my daughter) in the garden as soon as she can pick up a shovel. She is our first so it's been fun. She just started recognizing my wife and I so a little smile pops up when we say 'hi' and talk to her. We were going to try for a hockey team, but I think we will stick with 3 or 4.
LOL! Same here! I'm baby #2 and said don't think I want to do this again. Forgot how very sick I get.
I was only going to have 2 and had 8. You just never know.Mine are 34 to 13.Deanna