Gardening 2020...

[hoosierdaddy1976]

Strawberries were covered yesterday so they should be fine. Radishes and spinach were sprouting in the garden, and I had transplanted sugar snap peas last week. Hopefully they had hardened off enough to make it.

 

[dprimm]

I vowed to myself yesterday that I will NEVER worry about feeding my family again. (We are good - just see many holes that can cause problems). Expect lots of questions as my motivation to get raised beds and other garden options going. going to learn small before making big (expensive) mistakes.

Already have onions, beets, and romaine in the ground. Trying to get the carrots going (they are not starting for some reason).

My boss has started tomatoes for me. Got to get a plan together for maximize production (meaning: less inputs from me; more plant supporting plant).

 

[Expat]

I vowed to myself yesterday that I will NEVER worry about feeding my family again. (We are good - just see many holes that can cause problems). Expect lots of questions as my motivation to get raised beds and other garden options going. going to learn small before making big (expensive) mistakes.

Already have onions, beets, and romaine in the ground. Trying to get the carrots going (they are not starting for some reason).

My boss has started tomatoes for me. Got to get a plan together for maximize production (meaning: less inputs from me; more plant supporting plant).

Carrots take a couple weeks to germinate. Don’t panic yet.

 

[sparky32]

My Lettuce and Carrots are up as of yesterday. Gonna transplant all my Peppers, Tomatoes, and other veggies next week.

 

[bwframe]

Yesterday was a y shovel day for me. Among other garden stuff.

 

[7hatGuy]

Ive already started all mine growing a few varieties of super hot peppers, cucumber, brussel sprouts, cantaloupe, tomato, green onion, various herbs, yellow onion, etc. i started my super hots 6-7 weeks ago. Other stuff was started 2-3 weeks ago.

included a pic of some of my pepper plants, ghost, reaper, scotch bonnet, bubblegum, savina, wht devils tongue. I think thats all of the varieties im growing.

 

[dprimm]

Got 2 raised beds made today. Also ordered a fabric raised bed so HOA can’t say anything (not permanent). Will plan them out tomorrow. Hope to really step things up.

Carrots still not up. Not panicking. The soul where I put them is nit great.

 

[2in1evtime]

We've been thinking of a greenhouse for a few years now and looking at the kits. Specifically kits made by Palram. Anyone have any experience with these? Looking at an 8'×12' version.
Most bad reviews seem to be problems with assembly and with heavy winds. To help mitigate the wind issue it would be installed on a deck like foundation and anchored directly to it.

I could build one from scratch but having the time to do it is a huge factor. 2nd factor is if I build one it would be a permanent structure and subject to being taxed, which I obviously dont want

Any other suggestions would be great as well. My budget is around $1k but could probably up it to $1500 if something catches my eye.

Here's a link to the one I'm considering at this time

https://www.costco.com/balance-8'-x-12'-greenhouse.product.100131386.html

My wife got this 2 years ago, we built a deck to putt on, It has to be level, and putting it together was a real pain, had to trim the panels, instructions were crap, i wouldn't get another one of these again, and good luck getting panels to replace the ones that go missing in a big wind, customer service almost nonexistent. we will be replacing it this fall with a bigger model and real solid plexiglass panels.

 

[illini40]

Is anyone having luck finding seeds and plants? I’m up on NW Illinois, and availability is limited.

Online sources?

 

[Phase2]

I've seen plenty locally at hardware (Menards/Home Depot), gardening and department stores (Meijers).

 

[bwframe]

I found mine at Rural King and Menards. Bedding plants were a mess in both places though.

A lot of plants were killed off from leaving them outside in the freeze last week. Both places had plants left on rolling carts so they could be moved in and out after obviously loosing some.

 

[Chase515]

I picked up 16 tomato plants and 6 green pepper plants a few weeks ago at menards. I also picked up seeds for all things I wanted to grow this year. Strolled on over to the light bulb isle and picked up 2 grow bulbs then over another isle and got two chicken heat lamps. All is growing well in the basement, several pole bean plants started from seed over a foot tall already. Daughter has a couple window green houses and heat mat in her bedroom. She's been transplanting cucumbers and lettuce sprouts into 4" cups daily.

 

[Phase2]

Looking forward to doing mass planting Monday. Sunday night looks like our last sub-40 night and I've been holding off to protect them.

 

[Phase2]

What unusual plants are you trying this year?

I decided to try Luffa. They grow as a vine, so I'll have it with my cucumbers. Young fruits are supposed to be edible. Fully mature ones dry out and the "fruit" can be used as a natural sponge.

 

[spencer rifle]

The recent snow looked like it killed our broccoil/brussels sprouts. It browned and wilted the leaves, but we use a deep leaf mulch, and down under that there were still green leaves. They appear to be recovering. Peas growing well, rhubarb still going crazy, lots of chives.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I have healthy lettuce. The bunnies LOVE my peas, so I had to cover them with chicken wire covers to save them. If I dont the bunnies will chew them off at the ground level as they come out. And the little bastards arent brave enough to show themselves during the day so I can dispatch them with a pellet gun. They are only active in the 00:00-05:00 time range. Coincidentally so are the hawks here. I watched on destroy a bunny on our CCTV a couple weeks ago.

 

[dprimm]

Quick Question: Can I just sow most of the stuff that I have as seeds (beans, beets, kale, lettuce, etc) or must I start them in the house first?

 

[Phase2]

No. You can start all of them outdoors now. In fact, at least beans are recommended to only plant outdoors. They don't benefit as much from starting indoors. Indy appears to be past our last freeze, so that won't be a problem.

Benefits from starting indoors:

• You can start plants earlier, allowing you to eventually get veggies earlier.
• You can more closely control conditions (light/water/soil quality) allowing for a good start which has positive effects later.

Problems with starting indoors:

• Transplant shock- you can easily damage the roots when replanting outdoors, which temporarily sets back the plant. Also, the plant needs time to adjust to the non-ideal outdoor conditions and different light level.
• Provides benefit only for the most sensitive of plants when outside conditions are okay. You will often use more seeds when planting outdoors and thin any extra. This allows only the most hardy to survive.

 

[Jones1776]

I am going to add Jerusalem artichokes and asparagus this year, I wanted to add some perennial plants

 

[bwframe]

Used to be (before the global warming moved our zone/frost date ,) the last frost date was May 9.

There certainly have been plenty of times that we have gotten away with early plantings, but ground temps dictate germination and how or whether things will grow as they should. Lotta tomatoes have lived through early planting, but don't really take off until the ground temp comes up.

You can cheat mother nature a bit with ground covers, tenting and such. If you aren't keeping the ground temp solidly warm some plants just sit there and wait for it to come.