- Today at J&L, I asked if there was a particular brand of seeds that was more aclimated for where we live than another, and she told me that pretty much all of the seeds come from the same place in Mexico, and they hand pick the varieties that do well here, so if they carry it, it will work for here. Makes sense :)
- I am going to try asparagus, which takes a couple of years to be able to get a crop from it, but the time to plant is between March 1-15, which is when the starts come into J&L, so that's my plan. She also said to always start that from a seedling, and not seed (or bulb or whatever it is). I guess it can be pretty temperamental.
- I was going to also try broccoli and cauliflower, but since we have such a huge snail problem, I may wait until next year when we have that more under control. She said if I was going to do plant those, I would plant that also around the first part of March.
- She said any time in the next 3 weeks is the time to plant peas, she's planting hers this weekend!
- Carrots and spinach are also good ones to plant here pretty quickly.
- I talked corn with her. She told me that you have to plant a minimum of 5 rows (18 inches apart) of corn of each species to have them pollinate right (otherwise you end up with that inbred-backwoods looking stuff). If you do more than one variety, they have to be 40 feet apart. They are supposed to be in full sun. In this yard, that could be a problem. We shouldn't plant that until closer to mother's day.
- Also, I am trying to start seeds in my basement under our plant light. She said the two biggest things that make seeds not turn out are having the light more than 12 inches above the plant, and overwatering. She suggested using a spray bottle every day. Any more water than that will rot the seeds. Here is what I planted:
Cucumbers (I usually do these first 3 from plants, so we'll see what happens)
Watermelon
Cantelope
Hubbard Squash - freezes good for pies and baby food
Butternut Squash - awesome for cooking, soups, baby food, etc.
Spinach (this is an experiment...it recommends planting this straight outside...I just want to compare the two)
Birdhouse Gourds (these are sooooo cute! I can't wait)
Gourds (I love to decorate in the fall with these)
Baby's Breath - perennial
Petunias - annual
Impatiens - annual
and...Lupine - perennial
Hey, this is Melissa (Kathryn's sister) I am excited to read your gardening blog as I am wanting to learn more about it and start a garden of my own this year.
ReplyDeleteI want to see a picture of your garden and like how you lay it out. You planted all these things outside already or these are ones that you are growing from seeds in your basement? My garden is in bad spot of my yard and is the only spot that is still covered with snow... Augh! The only spot in my yard that ever sees any shade (maybe too much shade?)! Anyway, too much information, I am excited:)
These are the ones I am growing in my basement. The other stuff I will plant mostly after mothers day, but a few will be in a couple weeks. I'll put a layout on here in the next couple days :)
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