Fellow Zone 6 Gardeners...have you done anything w/your garden yet?

[ams3651]

my son finally got my field plowed this weekend. I hope to get my potatoes, peas and lettuce in this week. Have to go get some red beet seeds my mom just mentioned wanting some and she only has a small garden.

 

[Baymen Moe]

I finally got going this past weekend. I planted swiss chard, carrots and onions. I also transplanted some herbs to the veggie garden. I should be throwing in some beets and lettuce next weekend.

Bill

 

[Debby]

What a lovely day in Eastern PA! Sunny, breezy, in the 80s and low humidity.

We have lots of warm weather in the forecast for the next ten days. So I decided to make up for my late start with the cool weather crops. I put in six 16' rows of Silver Queen sweet corn.

Plus I managed to put four blueberry bushes in at my mother's house. I had already made a raised bed for them there, but still, I feel as though I have had a very productive day.

The fruit trees I put in earlier in the year are breaking bud nicely.

Life is good.

Debby

 

[Augustmomx2]

Woooo, blueberries My fave fruit!

I finally got around to:

- planting my seeds (in the garden): dill (for the ladybugs), peas, sunflowers (for the ladybugs & chickens) & bibb lettuce

-my starters of: dill, pumpkins & peppers are outside getting used to the weather

-I bought 2 organic tomato plants my ds insisted on having @ Earth Day hosted in our city & planted them already

Now, I just need to:
-plant the rest of my garden

-plant my seeds for my herb garden

-plant some seeds in the front area of our house that is owned by the city & make it look nice w/my wildflower mix :bouquet

Today is bringing lots of rain

 

[Augustmomx2]

What a lovely day in Eastern PA! Sunny, breezy, in the 80s and low humidity.

We have lots of warm weather in the forecast for the next ten days. So I decided to make up for my late start with the cool weather crops. I put in six 16' rows of Silver Queen sweet corn.

Plus I managed to put four blueberry bushes in at my mother's house. I had already made a raised bed for them there, but still, I feel as though I have had a very productive day.

The fruit trees I put in earlier in the year are breaking bud nicely.

Life is good.

Debby

What kind of fruit trees do you have? Are they difficult?

Also, are blueberries difficult? I read that they were...

Thanks!

 

[Debby]

What a lovely day in Eastern PA! Sunny, breezy, in the 80s and low humidity.

We have lots of warm weather in the forecast for the next ten days. So I decided to make up for my late start with the cool weather crops. I put in six 16' rows of Silver Queen sweet corn.

Plus I managed to put four blueberry bushes in at my mother's house. I had already made a raised bed for them there, but still, I feel as though I have had a very productive day.

The fruit trees I put in earlier in the year are breaking bud nicely.

Life is good.

Debby

What kind of fruit trees do you have? Are they difficult?

Also, are blueberries difficult? I read that they were...

Thanks!

I have put in nine fruit trees from Adam's County Nursery. I ordered late in the year, so they were sold out of quite a few things. But since I know very little, I was undaunted. They are:

A sweet cherry called Black Gold and a sour one called Montmorency.

Three apples: Granny Smith
Royal Empire
Honey Crisp

Two peaches: Cresthaven
John Boy

Two plums: Satsuna
Methley

The plan is to add a couple more apples and cherries over time. Liberty and Yellow Delicious are two apples I have my eye on.

I understand that they must be pruned and sprayed with dormant oil early in the spring or late in the winter. Then some sort of fungal and insect control is recommended every ten days or so during the growing season. The only exception to this is while they are blooming--to protect the bees--and a couple of weeks before harvest.

From what I can tell, there really hasn't been much in the way of organic gardening solutions, but I'm going to look into that a bit further, as native insects (food for native birds) is one of my quirky affections.

I'm just relaying to you what I have found out, I'm not at all experienced yet.

The blueberries, I believe are easier. They need to be pruned quiet heavily every year or they will not porduce well and care has to be taken to keep the soil acid enough. I'm told if you don't have good drainage, it is best to put them in a raised bed with tons of organic matter augmenting the soil--which is what I did. Also, may I recommend, something in a nice rabbit/deer fencing?

Now you have every drop of my exaustive knowledge on the subject. Perhaps others can chime in and help us both out.

Debby

 

[Debby]

-plant some seeds in the front area of our house that is owned by the city & make it look nice w/my wildflower mix :bouquet

Augustmomx2, tell me more about your wild flower mix. I have a hard time making them sit up and beg. I must not be a very good flower whisperer. Can't train them worth a darn.

Debby

 

[Augustmomx2]

What a lovely day in Eastern PA! Sunny, breezy, in the 80s and low humidity.

We have lots of warm weather in the forecast for the next ten days. So I decided to make up for my late start with the cool weather crops. I put in six 16' rows of Silver Queen sweet corn.

Plus I managed to put four blueberry bushes in at my mother's house. I had already made a raised bed for them there, but still, I feel as though I have had a very productive day.

The fruit trees I put in earlier in the year are breaking bud nicely.

Life is good.

Debby

What kind of fruit trees do you have? Are they difficult?

Also, are blueberries difficult? I read that they were...

Thanks!

I have put in nine fruit trees from Adam's County Nursery. I ordered late in the year, so they were sold out of quite a few things. But since I know very little, I was undaunted. They are:

A sweet cherry called Black Gold and a sour one called Montmorency.

Three apples: Granny Smith
Royal Empire
Honey Crisp

Two peaches: Cresthaven
John Boy

Two plums: Satsuna
Methley

The plan is to add a couple more apples and cherries over time. Liberty and Yellow Delicious are two apples I have my eye on.

I understand that they must be pruned and sprayed with dormant oil early in the spring or late in the winter. Then some sort of fungal and insect control is recommended every ten days or so during the growing season. The only exception to this is while they are blooming--to protect the bees--and a couple of weeks before harvest.

From what I can tell, there really hasn't been much in the way of organic gardening solutions, but I'm going to look into that a bit further, as native insects (food for native birds) is one of my quirky affections.

I'm just relaying to you what I have found out, I'm not at all experienced yet.

The blueberries, I believe are easier. They need to be pruned quiet heavily every year or they will not porduce well and care has to be taken to keep the soil acid enough. I'm told if you don't have good drainage, it is best to put them in a raised bed with tons of organic matter augmenting the soil--which is what I did. Also, may I recommend, something in a nice rabbit/deer fencing?

Now you have every drop of my exaustive knowledge on the subject. Perhaps others can chime in and help us both out.

Debby

Debby,

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of my questions, what great info!

I am marking this page, so I can refer back to it

 

[Augustmomx2]

-plant some seeds in the front area of our house that is owned by the city & make it look nice w/my wildflower mix :bouquet

Augustmomx2, tell me more about your wild flower mix. I have a hard time making them sit up and beg. I must not be a very good flower whisperer. Can't train them worth a darn.

Debby

Well, I'm almost embarassed to admit this, but not really since I'm a frugal person (& proud). Buuuuttt, I get them at Target for a dollar! I buy the Wildflower mix each year.

Last year, I put a mixture also on the side of my house, but they did not do too great due to the location. W-side of the house and it received a lot of late afternoon sun/heat. The area in front of our house is almost like a drainage area, so I believe the soil conditions are perfect. Lots of rain flows thru, but minimal standing water. I just dig up a little of the soil, sprinkle (a lot of the seeds) in the area I want to cover. Often I will cover with store-bought soil. Since some of the flowers are pretty fragile, I feel as though it is better cover than my clay-based soil I do trim the flowers pretty often, I enjoy them in my house...so I don't even know if I get to the point at which they should be trained Also, since there is such a variety they do sprout at different times.

I really have no idea if any of these tips work. This is from my experience only, I'm certainly not, although I wish I was, an expert

 

[Debby]

Thanks Augustmomx2

I'll have to give them a try again.

Debby