MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Brrrrr! The Pathetic History of a Garden by Moofo And Lo! The Garden was born. DadOfOneFunOne, under the direct supervision of Mom of same, built the raised beds, two of them. We purchased, hauled, and shoveled into the raised beds expensive, and strangely attractive, mushroom and manure compost and soil. We planted a variety of tomatoes, a couple of peppers, some okra, watermelon, and green beans. pppffffftttt . . . the garden grew like mad but produced very little. Toward the end of the summer, we went to a gardening seminar and the Master Gardener said that the terribly high summer temps kept the gardens of the novice gardeners from producing. That would be us: novice gardeners. She gave tips for helping the over heated garden and since we feel that it was the fault of the heat and if we had known then what we know now, it would have produced. We have hope and will put in a garden again this year. So, it's January. What should I be doing in or for my garden? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyndie Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 No idea but I want to offer my :grouphug: on your last garden attempt. Sounds similar to mine; lots of greenery but nothing edible! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 If you have any kinds of fruit trees or vines going, it's pruning time. Otherwise, request seed catalogs & plan away! You should be planning out what you're going to do for your spring garden, and making space for your seedlings for your summer garden. We start our tomato and pepper seedlings in mid-March. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We are in the midwest, too, and right now I am just in the staring-out-the-window stage! My next step will be to get Boy Scout ds to request a gardening merit badge blue card so we can start planning it together. What tips did the Master Gardener gal give you about heat in the midwest garden? My very experienced gardening neighbor had the same terrible yield this year, and this is a guy who REALLY knows what he is doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 My dh is the gardener in our family. January is when he plans what he will plant and orders the seeds. By February he is starting the seeds indoors, under his grow lights. The heat was hard on the plants last summer. We had some things that produced great, others, not as much. But gardening is like that. There is always some variable that messes with some plants; too much sun, too much rain, temps too cool, temps too hot, bugs, disease, etc...the list goes on. But when it's good, it's very good. We still have some veggies left in our freezer which we enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'm waiting on the snow to melt right now ;) I'm a novice gardener, too, and didn't have a great yield last year, either. Here in a month I'll till up the ground, throw in the mushroom compost, work out a way to keep the chickens out of the garden space, and maybe plant some garlic or other early producers by the end of the month/early March, depending on the weather. I don't do much in the way of real planting till mid-April. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 What were the tips to beat the heat? I'm in central Florida and had the same problem this past year. The summer heat was just too much, and my squashes and tomatoes didn't produce much. My beans did ok, but not as well as the previous year. All in all it was a pretty poor harvest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I would imagine that February is when you would plant sugar snap peas outside (try the bush kind, faster and easier), as well as other cool-weather crops. Which means you could start things like broccoli, kale, lettuce, collards right now. They take about 6 weeks to grow inside to be ready for transplanting (harden off the last week). Here's a post for you on Gardenweb by an Oklahoma gardener: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/okgard/msg021402039423.html For the gardens that grew lots of green leaves and very little fruit - it sounds like you have too much nitrogen in your soil. Nitrogen promotes leaf growth, but not flowers or fruit. Leave off the manure, blood meal, seed meal, and other high N fertilizers (not to mention Miracle Grow) a bit this year (yes, you can have too much of a good thing), plant earlier, water regularly with soaker hoses, and see what happens. And to those of you who feel you have a black thumb: I have felt that way many, many times. I have probably killed more plants than I have grown successfully - or the deer and groundhogs have eaten them. If you aren't killing at least some things, you aren't taking enough chances as a gardener. GardenMOm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 No idea but I want to offer my :grouphug: on your last garden attempt. Sounds similar to mine; lots of greenery but nothing edible! lol Aww, thanks Wyndie. You'll have to take this instead of a thimble: :grouphug:back at ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 We are in the midwest, too, and right now I am just in the staring-out-the-window stage! My next step will be to get Boy Scout ds to request a gardening merit badge blue card so we can start planning it together. What tips did the Master Gardener gal give you about heat in the midwest garden? My very experienced gardening neighbor had the same terrible yield this year, and this is a guy who REALLY knows what he is doing! Do you know what interfacing is? You know, that stuff for sewing? She said that covering the garden with a garden cloth, or for those who sew, interfacing, which is cheaper, during the hottest part of the day to keep it shaded. She also recommended a mister. She recomended watering at a certain time of the day, too, but I have forget which time. She said that in OK, plants that specify a need for "full sun" don't necessarily need full sun here b/c of the intensity of the sun they do get. So, part sun is enough for a lot of plants. She also said that while most ppl think of sunken/covered beds for winter, they can help during summer b/c of the semi constant temp of the soil. Not only is it warmer than the air temp in winter, it's cooler than the temp in summer. She also said you could extend the growing season and often get a second crop by using some of the same ideas as it gets cool. One was to put milk jugs full of water in the garden. They collect heat all day. In the evening, cover with the garden cloth to keep in a bit of warmth when the temp drops too low. hth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 I'm waiting on the snow to melt right now ;) I'm a novice gardener, too, and didn't have a great yield last year, either. Here in a month I'll till up the ground, throw in the mushroom compost, work out a way to keep the chickens out of the garden space, and maybe plant some garlic or other early producers by the end of the month/early March, depending on the weather. I don't do much in the way of real planting till mid-April. I was actually wondering if I should put the chickens in the garden space a few hours per day. Put in some scraps to keep them happy and get a nice dose of manure. Do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 What were the tips to beat the heat? I'm in central Florida and had the same problem this past year. The summer heat was just too much, and my squashes and tomatoes didn't produce much. My beans did ok, but not as well as the previous year. All in all it was a pretty poor harvest. Oh, see my reply to AuntieM! We'll be trying those this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 I would imagine that February is when you would plant sugar snap peas outside (try the bush kind, faster and easier), as well as other cool-weather crops. Which means you could start things like broccoli, kale, lettuce, collards right now. They take about 6 weeks to grow inside to be ready for transplanting (harden off the last week). Here's a post for you on Gardenweb by an Oklahoma gardener: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/okgard/msg021402039423.html For the gardens that grew lots of green leaves and very little fruit - it sounds like you have too much nitrogen in your soil. Nitrogen promotes leaf growth, but not flowers or fruit. Leave off the manure, blood meal, seed meal, and other high N fertilizers (not to mention Miracle Grow) a bit this year (yes, you can have too much of a good thing), plant earlier, water regularly with soaker hoses, and see what happens. And to those of you who feel you have a black thumb: I have felt that way many, many times. I have probably killed more plants than I have grown successfully - or the deer and groundhogs have eaten them. If you aren't killing at least some things, you aren't taking enough chances as a gardener. GardenMOm That answers my question about letting the chickens have their way with my garden space for a while b/f planting! Don't want the manure. We used a mix of mushroom compost, manure, and, dirt? soil? We bought a truck load of it and it was pretty pricey. They called it Gardener's Mix. Okay, I'm going to order cool weather seeds and start them in the garage. We love SS Peas, kale and all kinds of lettuces! Thanks for the link, GardenMom! I'm going to spend way to much time there right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Interfacing or burlap will both work. We also used epsom salts around the bases of a lot of our plants, not only for the feed, but to aid with the moisture swings that heat brings. We had started to lose some tomatoes to end blossom rot before adding that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Break your arms slamming a pick axe down on frozen- solid soil? You could sit by the fire and flip through seed catalogs, make a worm bin, and sketch your garden plots out. You can order seeds. Peas can go in March 15 or so, if anything defrosts. If you have cold frames you can try lettuce around the same time. Earlier if you start seeds inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I usually empty out my compost bin on the garden this time of year and clean out the bunny cages over the frozen garden - spread evenly and lay over plastic covering (secure with heavy rocks) and wait for spring. The plastic is to keep the weeds from getting a head start in the spring. :) And order your seeds. :) Of course, I usually wait for a warmer January (or February) day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I was actually wondering if I should put the chickens in the garden space a few hours per day. Put in some scraps to keep them happy and get a nice dose of manure. Do you think? I've noticed that my girls tend to NOT use the garden as a toilet because they take their dust baths there... Today my kids counted nine (out of 11) chickens in the garden. They've created quite a few holes for themselves... :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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